No Blood Relation
by phoenix9648
Summary: All it took was one traumatic event to bring two people together in a way they had never been, but secretly always wanted to. DASEY! Rated T for language and mature content. Multichapter. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Tagline:** All it took was one traumatic event to bring two people together in a way they never had been before, but always secretly desired.

Set some time after graduation from high school, pre-Queens. Dasey of course. I've got the most of the story written now but I'm a little unhappy with how it went so trying to get some feedback to see if I can figure out how to make it better. Rated T for now for future chapters (may change), for brief violence, mature content and some foul language.

This is my first fanfic EVER (not just first published) so please read/review so I can improve ! :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

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Derek could not believe his luck right now. Sally, his beautiful (ex)girlfriend, and a house to themselves. They were currently making out on the family couch, with no interruptions from younger siblings, nosy parents or, he shuddered to think, Casey.

As he paid special attention to Sally's neck, he began wondering where she was. It was getting late and it was typical of her to kill a mood as soon as it was getting good.

Tonight Lizzie was sleeping over at Jordan's, Marti and Edwin were at Abby's and George and Nora wanted to finally go on their bed-and-breakfast weekend getaway. Despite their distrust of the two teenagers, they had done fine on their own during the break they stayed home with just the two of them so in order to make it just as simple, they made sure all the kids were out of the house. They did not want to come home to another out-of-control house party.

Derek was not complaining. Casey had even gone out, with Truman. He still couldn't believe that they got back together at prom, after he had cheated on her. Derek had wanted her to forgive him so she could move on, not get back together with him. They were supposed to be at a movie then he was dropping her back off at home…but it was getting late and she hadn't called or let him know of any change in plans…

Even though Sally was on top of him, frenching him and he had missed her like crazy, he still found his mind worrying over where Casey was. No not worrying. Worrying is for people who care. And he did not care about Casey.

But he had this strange feeling…something was wrong…

Sally pulled them apart for air.

"God Derek, I think you've gotten better since I've left and it hasn't even been long." she teased, breathing heavily as she tried to regain her breath.

Derek smirked. He would've made some witty reply but he couldn't shake the random negative feeling in his stomach. Sally had gone away for the weekend to put her stuff in her dorm and get settled but they had broken up before she went, just because she would only come home for a couple days to say goodbye to everyone.

It was a reunion they hadn't planned on having. They didn't want to wait around and say goodbye for a couple days, then see each other then separate again. It would make things harder. So they broke up, she cried a lot, he comforted her. He wasn't a crier. Heck, he hated watching tears. But Sally was the one exception to everything for Derek.

She called him the second she had a free moment back in town and he did really want to see her. He knew this was their last night probably ever together, especially like this. Life would be getting in the way soon enough. Derek sighed as he realized this. If anything bad happened, he was going to have to deal with it, so he ignored the feeling and started kissing Sally again.

"Derek, I've missed you so much." Sally whispered, as they got more intense.

"Sally, I missed you too." Derek told her quietly, feeling embarrassed to admit it. If there was even a slight possibility of eavesdropping he wouldn't have confessed that. Derek Venturi does not show weakness.

She smiled sweetly at him, knowing it was a stretch for him to say so.

"I was kind of hoping tonight could be a special night…since it's our last…" Sally whispered seductively and his eyes grew in size as she pulled her dress over her head and threw it on the floor.

He simply stared at her underwear clad body. She was gorgeous and all his. He again could not believe his luck.

"Do you want to…?" she asked him softly. He shut her up by kissing her passionately.

She grinned, pulling his shirt off to reveal his muscular torso.

Derek led her upstairs when more of their clothes came off. She followed eagerly, leaping up and wrapping her legs around his waist as she began kissing him again. They fell against his bedroom door when the phone rang.

Derek hesitated automatically but when Sally raised her eyebrows at him, he smirked and went back to kissing her.

His cell phone started to ring after the house phone stopped. He broke away.

"Sorry, it might be something important, everyone knows not to pester me unless its an emergency." Derek explained as he searched through their pile of clothes for his ringing phone. Sally lie down on her back on his tousled bed, nodding. "Make it fast." he said into the phone, irritated. There was a beautiful half-naked girl on his bed who he loved and probably wouldn't see after tonight, he was NOT in the mood for small talk.

"Derek, can you please come get me?" a scared and tearful voice came. Derek immediately straightened up, fear gripping his spine.

"Casey, what happened?" he asked, concern etched in his voice. Sally looked at him in surprise, noting his sudden urgency.

"I can't talk about it right now. Just please." she said, her voice breaking as she rattled off an address.

"Casey, what the _hell_ are you doing out there?" he asked furiously. She had told him the location of an intersection, about a half hour out of town.

"Please Derek, can we discuss this later? Can you come get me or not?" she demanded.

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." he told her, snapping his phone closed.

Sally raised her eyebrows at this. He looked at her apologetically, feeling himself deflate. He was so worried about what happened to Casey. He had never heard her that upset and scared before. But here was Sally, the love of his life, waiting on his bed half-naked. Derek didn't like to admit it but he was a virgin and she would've been a prime choice to lose it too. She was crazy about him and him her plus it was the perfect night.

But he knew that even after Casey was safe at home, he could not continue this.

"Sally, I'm sorry but I've got to help Casey out. Something's seriously wrong. I wanted to do this with you but it probably wasn't a good idea anyways. It'll just make it harder for you to leave tomorrow. I love you but I can't." he explained.

Sally's eyes had tears in them. This worried him. He prepared himself for the blow-up.

"Oh Derek, I love you too. You're completely right though. We were getting in over our heads. Now isn't the time for something like this. I'm going to leave but I'm glad this is the last impression I have of you, seeing you being such a good brother to Casey despite your differences in the past. You truly are a good guy, Derek Venturi." she told him, hugging him then pulling her dress back on. Different reaction than he'd expected but definitely better.

Once they were dressed Derek pulled her close and gave her the most tender kiss he ever had. She sighed as he pulled away.

"Goodbye, Sally." he whispered before running to jump in The Prince.


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK**

Sorry this chapter is quite a bit longer but as you might have guessed, a lot of stuff goes on ! Read and Review 3

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Derek knew he was speeding and it was dangerous but all he could think of is what horrible thing happened to Casey that would put her in the middle of nowhere and make her that upset. Luckily it was late enough at night that there weren't too many people on the road so he managed to get their in fifteen minutes flat.

He raced up to the Tim Horton's she described and he parked the car roughly, scanning the lot desperately for any sign of Casey.

Finally he spotted her and she wasn't alone.

She saw her trying to escape the grasp of Truman, who was being forceful and looked angry. Casey was obviously crying and more scared than he had ever seen her. Derek let out a yell of fury when he saw Truman slap her hard in the face, causing Casey to recoil and slump to the ground.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Derek screamed, storming over. Casey looked up at him with a tear-stained face as Truman gaped in surprise. It hadn't occurred to him that she could have called him.

"Well Derek, this IS a surprise. Come to see-" he didn't finish his sentence because Derek had punched him in the face, hard. Casey gasped. He tossed his keys to her.

"Go. Get in the car." he spat out, ready to continue his fight with Truman.

"Who knew it would be Derek Venturi who came to rescue Casey MacDonald?" Truman said with a laugh.

"Stay the hell away from her, Truman. Don't you ever, ever hit her again." Derek growled.

To his surprise, Truman laughed. "You think all I did was beat her tonight? My, my, you're losing your touch. It's not like she didn't ask for it. You of all people should know how much of a fight Casey likes. I always knew she'd be feisty in bed, I just didn't expect her body to be so-" he tried to say.

Derek had clued in to what he was implying happened and before he knew it, he had tackled Truman and was punching the living daylights out of him without even processing what he was doing.

"Der-ek!" came Casey's cry of despair. If she hadn't made his name two separate words, like only she could, he wouldn't have stopped his hand from colliding with Truman's face.

"Don't you ever EVER fucking come near her again or there is much more and much worse to come." Derek snarled.

"Please Derek, can we just go?" Casey whimpered, rushing into his arms when he finally turned around to leave the bleeding Truman on the ground. He held her tightly, walking her to the car.

"I'll take care of you." was all Derek said before he seated her, wrapping the blanket from the backseat around her to stop her shaking.

Casey cried pretty much the entire way home. He knew she was trying to stop for his benefit but she couldn't. Derek was fighting back tears of his own hearing her so upset. He never cried, he wasn't a pansy. But she was so hurt and had been through so much shit that night. He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it gently. She looked up at him, seeing his strained face, and let her tears fall.

"Derek…" she began but he shook his head.

"Wait until we're home, please." he begged, not turning to look at her. He couldn't watch her cry. He couldn't talk about what happened. He needed to be safely inside their house, where he could concentrate on taking care of her not on how bad he wanted to turn around in the car and beat Truman into a pathetic pulp.

She quieted and looked out the window. When she squeezed his hand back, he inhaled shakily and she glanced over in fear again. She had never, ever seen Derek cry. He wasn't about to let her.

Finally they arrived at their empty house. He was even more glad that everyone was out of the house. He didn't want to have to make excuses or let them see Casey this way. It would be hard enough for her to face them when they didn't know, let alone if they did.

"Case, can I ask you to do something for me?" he asked softly when they got in the door. She looked at him in surprise. He held up the keys. "Please hide these from me. I don't know what I'll do if I'm given the opportunity." His eyes were pleading.

She nodded, taking them from him and heading up the stairs.

As he hung up his jacket, he suddenly felt stupid. Why did he let her go off by herself? She would lock herself up alone and refuse to talk to him. At least if he remained with her she would feel obligated to speak right then about what was going on. He moved to the kitchen to start making her tea.

As he put the kettle on and dug through the cupboards, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Casey standing in the doorway, eyeing him in surprise. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and glassy but it was her shaking that scared him. She hadn't stopped shaking yet.

Quickly, he rushed over and pulled her into his arms. That was when she broke down into sobs, crying into his shoulder and gripping his shirt as she bawled her eyes out. All her fear and pain came out and they sunk to the floor, Derek holding her protectively.

The kettle was whistling loudly but he ignored it. He didn't care if the house burned down, all that mattered was for her to know she was safe and he was there to protect her.

"Do you want tea?" he asked softly, brushing away her tears when her crying slowed. She nodded, smiling at his thoughtfulness. He knew her well. She always had tea when she was really upset about something.

He pulled her to her feet and settled her down on the couch, then, changing his mind, cuddled her up in a blanket in his chair. She looked at him in surprise. She knew that he let no one, absolutely no one, sit in that chair. Not Edwin, George or heck even Marti. She smiled gratefully at him, surprised again when he kissed her lightly on the forehead before leaving to fix her tea.

Derek internally was chastising himself. When did he become such a pansy? He was being all cute and thoughtful, and Derek Venturi did _not_ do cute and thoughtful. But with Casey, he just acted differently. Whether it was more annoying and evil, or sweeter and more caring. He cared for her a lot, a lot more than he was ready to admit.

When he came back out, she was snuggling down in his chair looking quite comfortable. She smiled brightly when she saw him. He was surprised at how bright her smile was, considering the pain he knew she was in. She took the cup from him eagerly, sipping and allowing the warmth to spread through her body. She was still shaking a little but not as bad.

Derek came over and sat on the armrest of the chair. He placed the back of his hand against her skin. It was slightly clammy but not too bad. She was suffering from mild shock but nothing too serious. She looked at him in surprise.

"You're actually checking for shock? I didn't know you even knew what that meant." she exclaimed, giggling slightly.

He smirked. They hadn't spoken for a few minutes and the first thing they do is tease each other? Typical.

"I am smarter than they give me credit for. I'm just an underachiever." Derek explained.

Her face softened. "You didn't show it very well tonight. Derek, you really didn't need to do that. It wasn't a very smart idea, you could have seriously hurt him or gotten in huge trouble." she began.

"I wanted to seriously hurt him! He seriously hurt you! I couldn't stand by and do nothing." Derek exclaimed, louder than he meant to.

She smiled, touching his arm. "It's not up to you to fight my battles. I appreciate you defending my honour but what if you got caught and sent to jail or something? You're future would be in jeopardy all because of me." Casey reminded him.

He chuckled, lightening the mood. "I think we all know my future is not in jeopardy just because of you."

She giggled, just like he hoped. "That's not the point. Assault is a serious offence. I never knew you to get violent."

He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't normally but when I saw him…touch you…I lost control. But then, hearing what more he did, it pushed me over the edge. I couldn't think long enough to realize what I was doing."

Casey nodded, looking sad again. Derek took a deep breath. As much as he didn't want to know, he had to ask.

"Case, what really happened tonight?"

She looked away from his eyes as hers began to fill.

"Well…we were supposed to go to a movie. That's what he said. But when he picked me up, he said he had a new idea. He was staying at his uncle's for a few weeks but his uncle had a business trip this weekend so he wanted to hang out there since we never get full privacy. I thought he was referring to the constant interruptions that come with living in big families.

"We never really get alone time to be a couple except in the car and in public places, which again, doesn't really work. So I agreed, thinking…stupidly thinking…that it would be a good idea. We could really talk and hangout and…connect I guess as more of a couple. It had been awkward with the whole cheating-on-me-with-my-cousin thing hanging over our heads and as much as I wanted to trust him, I was still uneasy. There was something I always found to be a little dangerous about Truman. Tonight I realized exactly what."

She breathed deeply for a few moments, trying to grasp her emotions and keep them in check.

"So we got there and he suggested hanging out in his room. I found this kind of odd because it's not like we were worried about his uncle walking in on us since he would be gone the whole night but I followed him, thinking it would be more comfortable in there…and more intimate. I just hadn't clued into how intimate he wanted to be until later." she whispered.

"So he took me up there…and we started kissing right away…I felt weird about it but went with it…but then when he started pulling on my clothes I broke away, telling him I needed air. Then he started scaring me. He refused, told me he didn't want to wait for me anymore. He held me down and kissed me so hard it hurt. I broke from his grasp somehow then he started hitting me, throwing me to the wall and coming up to me and…and he started ripping at my clothes again…and I could feel him getting turned on by it all and I remember thinking how sick that was…then he took off his clothes and started trying to force me into giving him…g-giving him…" she couldn't finish. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Derek understood so she needn't bother. He had slipped into the chair with her now, holding her and shushing her and letting her cry into him.

"I bit down on him, hard, and it threw him off guard so I managed to escape. I ran out of that house as fast as I possibly could. I finally called you when I reached the Tim's, about a quarter mile away from him. I wanted to keep running but I was so tired out and there was no where else to go. I couldn't head down the highway. But while I was waiting for you, he came and found me. I ran outside to start running anywhere I could but he caught me and told me we were going to finish what we started. I told him off, calling him every curse word under the sun, and then he hit me. Next thing I know, he was on the ground and you were standing above him fuming." she said quietly, studying his face.

Derek petted her hair down, breathing slowly. He was glad he had the brains to get her to hide those keys. Because hearing that Truman was trying to force her to have sex was one thing but to actually physically make her give him a blowjob and come so close was boiling the blood in his veins. Hitting her and hurting her and making her feel bad was horrible enough but coupled with this and Derek could commit murder. No one should ever touch her in any way that she doesn't want.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." he murmured, reading her well. "Case, you have to tell someone. We should call Nora and-"

"No! Please Derek, at least not tonight. I just need some time." she pleaded helplessly.

"Okay, whatever you want." he acquiesced, pulling her closer. He brushed away her tears with his fingertips. When his hand squeezed her waist affectionately, she winced.

Derek closed his eyes to stop from screaming. He knew she was bruised and the fact that it was because of what Truman did, made Derek want to uproot the whole house for those keys, or just steal a car and hunt him down.

But he stopped himself because he knew that Casey needed him now more than ever before.

"Case, we need to tend to your…injuries. Let's go upstairs." he suggested. She nodded and he wrapped an arm around her waist gently to lead her upstairs. To think the last person he did this to was Sally, on the verge of losing his virginity to her earlier that night. It felt like years ago after everything that went down since then.

He sat her carefully on the edge of the tub as he pulled out the first aid kit. He realized that it might be better to let her do it herself but she was still shaking and he knew she was in no state to see how bad off she was. He inhaled, preparing for the awkwardness that would ensue, and squeezed her hand.

"Where does it hurt, Space-Case?" he asked tenderly. She smiled a little at the nickname. He seemed to be doing good by keeping it light and normal between them which meant constant teasing.

"Pretty much everywhere. But…mostly here." She hesitated as she went to lift her shirt.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked automatically.

She shook her head. "No…I need your help." she admitted before pulling her shirt up a bit. Seeing the damage, Derek continued for her and slid it off. He closed his eyes at the sight of her body.

Not only was it more beautiful than he had imagined, but her torso was coated in blackening bruises, in the shape of Truman's hands. He winced as he saw the painful-looking red marks that were left by his teeth.

"Oh Casey…" he muttered under his breath.

He tended to her injuries, applying ice and pressure where necessary. She jumped at the cool contact with her skin, so he wrapped a towel around it to ease the chill and chance of frostbite. He pulled out the peroxide for her 'love-bites' and she winced automatically. He sighed but she held her head high as he disinfected them. She shifted erratically as each one stung but remained in position.

"If he ever, ever…" he muttered to himself, but she still heard him.

"He won't." she reassured him. "Look Derek…"

He looked up. He prayed she wouldn't make a comment about how he was staring admiringly at her torso. Dancing certainly had kept her body in excellent shape. She had a fantastic body, something he only ever remembered when they were physically fighting and he was allowed to let his hands roam.

"I never really did thank you for tonight. You've been amazing. I really appreciate all you've done. Even if our parents were home, you would still be my first call. I can always depend on you when I need you most." she told him, her eyes glistening in the best way he'd seen it all night: from pure joy.

He smiled, a genuine smile for once. "I'll always be there for you, Case."

She beamed back at him and with slight hesitation, came over to sit on his lap and hug him. He cradled her weight, she wasn't that heavy after all plus hockey kept him in shape, and held her close. He didn't care that she was only in a bra; he rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the crook of her neck. She shivered at the touch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you…" he began worriedly, thinking he was bringing back unwanted memories from the night from hell.

She smiled. "No it was sweet. I'm just still cold and rattled and feeling incredibly dirty. I think I'll take a shower."

She crawled out of his lap and went to reach for the medicine cupboard to return the first aid kit but cried out in pain and pulled her body back to regular height.

Derek was alarmed and jumped to his feet. "Casey, you're really hurt. Should we take you to the hospital?"

She shook her head. "No I really need to be home tonight and I don't want to answer all those questions." she pleaded. "I think it might be a better idea if I take a bath. You know, allow the warmth to soak into me."

Derek nodded vigorously. He started running the water as Casey left to change. When he put towels on the counter, he saw her come back in still dressed as much as when she left, minus her skirt being undone. He looked away automatically, not knowing how else to react.

"Derek, I hate putting you in this awkward situation, but I-I can't…do it alone." she whispered, her tears choking her voice.

He turned back around. "I'll be gentle, I promise."

Hesitantly, he put his hands on her hips. He closed his eyes momentarily as he slid her skirt down her toned legs and let her step out of it. She was avoiding his eyes, blushing a deeper red than he'd seen. Seeing her in only her underwear made him want to take a shower of his own, only purely cold water would be required.

Realizing that he had to continue to undress her, he paused. Reaching for a towel, he wrapped it around her lower half. She held it against her and Derek slowly let his hands slide up her leg underneath the towel until his fingers reached the top of her underwear. He tugged them down slowly, closing his eyes even though he couldn't see anything. Casey's breathing was quick and if he didn't know she was incredibly embarrassed and awkward, he would have thought he was turning her on.

Next he pulled the towel further up her body, wrapping it tight so it was covering her chest. He unclasped her bra and slid it off her arms. The towel was around her but the fact that his step-sister was completely naked in front of him was driving him crazy, especially a certain part of him. He helped her gingerly enter the bath and then he pulled the curtain across and she passed the towel to him as she lowered herself in. He heard her let out a small moan of pain and nearly ripped it back to help her but he stopped himself in time.

"Thanks." came a small voice and he smiled.

"I said I'd take care of you." he told her tenderly before leaving her alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Tried to get chapter back to original size buttttttt I cant make any promises for the future ;) Hope you're enjoying it! Let me know by reviewing !!!

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

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Derek lied in his bed lazily, wondering if he was supposed to be waiting for Casey to finish. He heard his name being called and instantly was at the bathroom door.

"Are you decent?" he called. Hearing her agreement, he entered. She stood there, water still dripping down her body. Oh yes, he was going to need a very cold shower after this.

"I'm sorry…I just…" she was blushing furiously. He nodded in understanding.

"Let's get you warm." he told her, wrapping an arm around her waist once more to guide her out of there. She hobbled slightly, not that Derek could blame her. Truman did a number on her leg. There was a green-blue-black mix on her right shin. If she hadn't been able to walk as decent as she could, Derek would've thought he had broken her leg.

He let her pick her clothes out and then repeated the opposite process. She was shivering more now as he slid her underwear up her legs. When it seemed to be residing comfortably on her hips, he moved to her bra. He hesitated. Did girls normally sleep in bras? Oh well, it made things less awkward.

After clasping that, he pulled her pajama pants up. Casey released the towel. He couldn't help but gaze up at her only-in-a-bra torso. She avoided his admiring eyes, blushing once more. As he made to grab her shirt, his lips somehow accidentally brushed past her hip bone and she quivered.

He wondered curiously if she was being turned on by the action. After all, Sally always shivered when he kissed her in special spots and even when he just kissed her in a different way.

Ignoring his curiosity, he slipped the tank top over her head and set it comfortably on her body. She smiled gratefully at him, before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him closely. He responded by coiling his arms around her waist.

"Thanks for everything." she whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek lightly as she pulled away.

"You should get some sleep. If you need me, just call. I'm only down the hall after all. Wow rhyming galore there." he added amusedly, causing her to giggle. He squeezed her hands gently before leaving her to rest.

Derek was downstairs a couple hours later, trying to distract himself with TV. He couldn't sleep thinking about what she went through. An evil part of his brain was trying to figure out where Casey could have hidden the keys. But the smarter part of his brain stomped the other part out and attempted to concentrate on the hockey game.

Suddenly, he heard screaming. Casey was screaming like she was being murdered. It was the most blood-curdling, heart-wrenching, terrifying sound he had ever heard in his life. He took the stairs three at a time before bursting into her room, half-expecting to see Truman with a twelve-inch knife, only to find her tangled up in her sheets, having a vivid nightmare.

The sound was only made worse by the look on her face when he woke her up. Her eyes were wide and absolutely horrified and she burst into tears, shaking more and more as she tried to disentangle herself from the sheets furled around her body. Derek quickly ripped them off of her and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Derek…" she cried. "It was him, all over again, and worse…"

He shushed her soothingly, holding her in their cluster on the floor.

"I'm so scared, Derek. He knows where I live. What if he tries something again? What if he hunts me down?" she asked hysterically.

Derek hadn't thought of that. He felt fury seep into his veins.

"I will stay with you. Tonight and every night until you feel safe. I promise. I'll protect you. He will never lay another finger on you." Derek vowed.

Casey smiled through her tears, hugging him tightly. He suddenly scooped her up bridal style and carried her to his room. Hers was a little dishevelled after all plus the bright colors were hurting his eyes after the darkness of the downstairs. She quickly moved over to cuddle with him in his bed.

It didn't hit them until the next day how out of character and weird that was.

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Casey awoke in Derek's arms, hardly a change from their position the night before. Her head was resting delicately on his chest and his patterned breathing assured her he was still asleep. She let her fingers stroke down his abdomen, feeling every distinct line his muscles made. She didn't remember when he removed his shirt but she was definitely not complaining.

Then it hit her. Very quickly.

She was cuddling with Derek. DEREK. Her _step-brother_. Not to mention the very bane of her existence. The reason she screamed in annoyance more times in a week than she did in her full fifteen years at her old home. They fought so much it was almost a crime. And over everything, even the little stuff.

But she knew she had started feeling differently towards him. Although if she was to be honest, it seemed like it was always there, hiding beneath the surface. Waiting for her realization to hit. Last night had been the real kicker.

He had been so sweet, so thoughtful everything he did for her. Rushing over, even beating Truman up to defend her honour, then taking care of her: the simple act of making her tea and wrapping her up in his chair and getting her to talk to him. Then tending to her wounds and drawing her a bath. Helping her get undressed, even though it made him uncomfortable, he did it for her so she would feel better. He had never been so selfless. And then taking her under his wing, protecting her and making her feel safe. He held her all night and she got the best sleep she'd had in a while, despite all the happenings of the night before.

She blushed, realizing how many hugs and brief kisses and intimate touches they shared the night before. They had never so much as hugged before and then last night they were almost always in intimate contact with each other.

She knew affection wasn't exactly his thing unless he was getting physical pleasure from it but he really showed a new side to him that she couldn't help but be crazy about. He had been so incredibly sweet…

But he was her step-brother. It was almost in the job description to be there for her when she needed him. But…it was the extent that he was there…it was the lengths he went to help her…the stretching past his regular comfort zone that made her realize how much more he was there. It wasn't in the job description to do that. But he did. He truly cared about her.

That's when Casey knew. Her feelings weren't normal. She felt more for him than she had in the past. This new side of her was only making her fall harder for him. Even though she always growled about his flirty egotistic charm he used on every girl, she had fallen for it. The reason she hated it so much was not only it worked on every girl, but her as well.

As much as she screamed and stomped her feet over his pranks and teasing, she knew deep down she secretly loved the attention. Her tears spilled over. She was feeling too strongly for him. As she let the extent of her feelings for the man before her wash over her, she realized it was deeper than anything she had ever felt. And completely off-limits.

Not only was he her step-brother, as in _family_, but she just went through a major trauma. She couldn't be certain that latching onto him wasn't from him being there for her in her time of need or because a guy showed caring for her when Truman hadn't and she was mixing up her feelings. She would have to see what happened.

But she had a feeling that this wasn't some emotional search for comfort.

Derek stirred when he felt her tears hit his chest. Realizing what they were, he moved to look in her eyes.

"Case, what's wrong? Another nightmare?" he asked softly, brushing some hair away from her face.

Her tears just fell faster. His thoughtfulness was not helping her control her feelings.

"I'm fine, just an emotional wreck. No different than usual." she added with a small giggle. He rolled his eyes, a touch of a smirk on his mouth.

"Case, you are dramatic for sure but in this case, you are definitely not being overemotional. You went through a trauma. It's natural to be shaken up. In fact, you are doing a lot better than I expect most people would." he told her reassuringly.

"You're so sweet, Derek. How can I ever thank you?" she whispered into his neck as she hugged him.

_A kiss would be nice_, suddenly crossed his mind.

He felt surprised at the involuntary thought. But he knew what it meant. The feelings he were avoiding from last night and pretty much the past few years crept up.

_Great_.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the shortness, but hopefully you dont mind since Im updating sooo soon haha I just got too excited. This chapter ends on more of cliffhanger so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW :)

I appreciate SO much the reviews Ive gotten and for all those who have favorited my story, it means a lot so thank you !

The next chapters that I have written are the parts that bug me, theyre a little off of what I had in mind, so new ideas/predictions would be also much appreciated !

Oh one final note, sorry that Derek and Casey are so out of character, I promise to try to get them more like themselves in my other stories and hopefully later chapters. They went through a trauma so its natural that it would change them but I still love their classic characters so I will try to get them back to it. I just love them getting along too, especially when Derek is so sweet which we all know he is deep deep down :)

Enjoy !

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

* * *

When they got up, Casey felt much better. Minus her injuries. She limped down the stairs. She was only halfway down when she let out a startled scream. Derek had picked her up unexpectedly, the same as last night, and carried her the rest of the way.

"Sorry you are injured enough. I am not letting Klutzilla consume your body and make you worse off." he teased, but there was tenderness in his voice she wasn't used to.

She simply smiled sweetly at him, giggling at his comment. To think that the nickname was once her biggest nightmare. Now he had turned it into an affectionate exchange.

"I'm going to shower as I didn't get to last night. Do you need anything?" he asked her as he passed her the remote.

"No I'm fine. Go shower." she told him. She stopped the craving to peck him on the lips before he left.

After he headed upstairs, she bit her lip, smiling. She had a way to pay him back even just a little.

Derek got out of the shower a little while later, which had only been slightly below temperature. He and Casey hadn't been touching like they had the night before so the need for ice water wasn't necessary. But the feel of her skin on his caused him to lower the temperature a bit to keep his body parts in check.

As he wrapped the towel around his waist, he opened the door. He paused at the familiar smell. _No way._

Without thinking, he raced downstairs, equipped in only the white towel to find Casey, as expected, making his favourite: blueberry pancakes. She smiled amusedly when she saw his attire, raising one eyebrow.

"You could have got dressed first you know. I would've waited. They're not even finished yet." she added, turning back to them to flip them over.

His mouth practically watered. She was always the best at making them. She didn't multitask like their parents who always ended up burning at least one side charcoal. Plus she always added extra butter or SOMETHING to make them extra delicious.

"Come on, you can't actually expect me to wait." Derek whined, coming up behind her. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him and found them nose-to-nose. They both stopped moving.

The desire to kiss her was unreal. He looked to her eyes, surprised to see something stirring behind those beautiful blue pools, but he wasn't sure what exactly. He glanced at her neck, seeing the remains of the bruise Truman left and released her, remembering that even if somehow she did like him back, she wouldn't be ready for anything physical for a long time. She was traumatized from the previous nights events. She may not ever be the same.

She turned to watch him warily, surprised at his change in behaviour. Looking over her shoulder, she found herself staring at his naked torso. Wow he was hot. She blushed as she thought it, and turned back to her work.

"I'll go change then but they better be ready when I get back." Derek taunted, leaving the room.

Inwardly, Casey cursed herself, figuring he must have seen her staring and knew she couldn't handle being in the same room with him when he was dressed like that.

She could handle it. It was handling the desire to tackle him to the ground and ravish him in every way possible that was hard to handle.

They spent the day watching movies Casey wanted to watch, although she gave in and watched Transformers to save him from the chick flick fest. He had already watched Pride and Prejudice and part of the Notebook. He couldn't handle it all so he left partway through, causing her to laugh at him for a while.

The romance was between two people who fought constantly but it just made them more passionately in love. He didn't need any reminders of his relationship with Casey, or lack thereof.

A while later, he was saved from yet another sappy tearjerker by the family coming home. Nora and George looked impressed at the state of the house. It looked exactly as they left it. Only better, because Casey and Derek were getting along.

"Hey, how's mom doing?" Derek asked as Marti jumped on his lap and Edwin slumped at the opposite end of Casey on the couch, furthest from Derek. Lizzie sat between them, hugging Casey. Derek watched her intently as she winced slightly. Lizzie didn't notice.

Casey sent a sympathetic gaze to Derek, knowing it bothered him immensely how hurt she was from the attack.

"Mom's good but I like Nora's cooking better." Edwin said pointedly.

"Aw, thanks Edwin. But no, you won't be getting an allowance raise for that." she added with a laugh.

Edwin scrunched his face up, swinging his fist in defeat.

"Hey Smerek, did you miss me?" Marti asked eagerly, looking up at him with wide innocent eyes.

He smiled sweetly. "Of course Smarti, I never have fun without you." he told her, tickling her until she giggled so much she cried.

"So what's with this?" Lizzie asked, gesturing between Casey and Derek.

Both of them flushed, thinking she knew they had feelings for the other. Even if the pair didn't know what the other one was feeling.

"Yeah, you two getting along? When did this happen?" George asked when he returned to the living room after taking his and his wife's luggage to their room.

"I don't know, we just got a bit more of an understanding of each other." Derek said nonchalantly, to everyone's surprise.

"Is that synonymous for: you fell on your head?" Edwin asked. "Ow!" he exclaimed, when the pillow Derek threw collided with his head.

A couple hours later, everyone was finished at supper and Nora spoke up.

"You know Case, you're awfully quiet tonight. Is everything alright?" her mother asked her.

Instantly, she glanced at Derek who was sitting across from her.

"Just tired, Mom." she lied, forcing a smile.

After the dishes were cleared from the table, Derek approached Casey.

"Hey, how about we go out for ice cream? It will be really quick and it will give you a chance to get out of this acting thing. You need a pick-me-up and frankly, as delicious as those pancakes were, the sugar rush has run out." he teased in her ear. She giggled and agreed.

If only they knew what awaited them at Smelly Nelly's.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the cliffhanger from the chapter before ! I was trying to find a more suitable ending TO that cliffhanger but sadly I failed and had to go with what I originally had, rather than something more exciting. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the chapters that follow as well, especially when Casey actually goes to the hospital, but that's failing haha. This is what I originally had so hope you dont hate me, or worse, this story now that its in it ! This chapter deals with the family seeing how much what happened to Casey affected Derek and I thought it was really important to show how much hes grown up...even if he has some immature actions ;)

Anyways if you guys have any suggestions of things that could happen that would make this story less boring I'd really appreciate it !

Thank you guys SO much for the feedback as well, it means a lot!

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

When they got back home from their outing, the family was shocked to find Derek leading a sobbing Casey inside the house. He was whispering apologies over and over again to her. She looked at him with wide, fearful eyes but something about it made the family feel awkward for witnessing it. They were looking at each other like they were the only ones in the world.

"Casey, what's wrong, what happened?" Nora asked, panicking. Lizzie and Edwin raced down the stairs when they heard this, stopping at the bottom in surprise to see the pair of step-siblings who always were fighting holding each other.

Casey couldn't speak; the question restarted her tears.

Derek squeezed her hands in his, looking her right in the eyes. "Case, I'll tell them, you go upstairs. I'm just…so sorry. If I had have known…" He looked so torn. The family were so confused and upset not knowing what on earth they were talking about and shocked to see the dark emotions so blatantly on feeling-less Derek's face.

"It's not your fault. But Derek, I'm worried about you…what if he…" she cried, unable to stop her sentence.

Derek shushed her, pulling her back into his arms. "He won't. You go upstairs. I'll come up in a few minutes. I've got to tell the family. You know I do." he whispered, as if they weren't all staring at them at that very moment.

"You know where to find me." she whispered back, smiling a little. Derek smiled back, kissing her forehead lightly and guiding her halfway up the stairs before turning back.

"What the hell is going on?" George demanded.

"Whoa bro, what happened to your hand?" Edwin exclaimed, seeing the bleeding knuckles.

Derek glanced down at it, not having noticed the pain radiating from his metacarpals.

"Look, can everyone just sit down please? This is hard enough to talk about without you all badgering me." he said more heatedly than he meant to.

"Well what did you expect?! You come in comforting a distraught Casey with bruised knuckles and you guys are all clustered like you're in your own world apologizing for god knows what." Lizzie said indignantly.

Derek sighed.

"Look, something happened last night. Casey went out with Truman and…" he paused. God he hated voicing Truman's name. It caused bile to form in his throat. "And basically, he assaulted her." They all gasped predictably. "She called me, I rescued her, but not before I beat the crap out of him."

Both George and Nora let out disapproving noises.

"I took her home, took care of her, but she's obviously still pretty shaken up. I have never seen her that way before. Or anyone. It freaked me out." he confessed without realizing, for the first time showing his family his more vulnerable side. "But to say the least, we got closer over the night. She was grateful for me taking such good care of her and I realized how much I do care for her." he admitted, trying not to emphasize _exactly _what he realized. "So tonight I figured she still needed some cheering up so we went out for ice cream and we saw Truman at Smelly Nelly's. We didn't notice him right away but he had come up behind Casey and grabbed her arm to drag her away and she freaked out so I turned and saw who it was and…lost control again." he finished quietly.

"Derek, when you say lost control…" George started worriedly, glancing pointedly at his son's bleeding knuckles.

Derek sighed. "Yes Dad, I punched him in the face. But I went at him again, beating him until I got kicked out and he had a broken nose and was bleeding on the floor, much like the night before."

"Derek, he could press charges!" George bellowed.

Derek rolled his eyes. "I know. That's what Casey's so worried about. She doesn't want protecting her to get in the way of my future. But it was my choice." he mumbled.

"And we all appreciate you defending your step-sister but Derek, you could have just walked away. There was no need to get into another fight; it's bad enough you had one to begin with." George told him.

"Look I get it. But he was touching her…I told her he would never touch her again…" he said, his voice beginning to shake. Edwin and Lizzie's eyes widened. Derek did not cry. EVER. Not even when he broke his arm when he was a kid.

"Edwin, Lizzie, go upstairs. Leave Casey alone. You don't need to hear anymore." Nora told them, understanding what was going to happen to Derek and that he wouldn't want a big witness party.

"I've got to go talk to Casey, see how she is. I told her I'd only be a few minutes." Derek pleaded, wanting to leave with his brother and step-sister upstairs.

George became more serious. "Derek, we need to know what happened. When you say assaulted…?"

Derek clenched his jaw to keep from losing control. "I mean he beat her and tried to rape her and almost forced her into giving him oral sex." he hissed, unable to control his anger at the situation.

Nora looked so horrified that George put an arm around her as she started to cry.

"What kind of injuries did she receive?" his dad asked, his lawyer side kicking in.

"Everything…big black bruises all over her torso and bite marks all around her neck and her lips were bleeding and a big mark on her leg and she can hardly move at all…"

Derek lost it right there and for the first time ever, he cried in front of his dad. His dad pulled him into him, baffled at the display of emotion.

"I promised her, I PROMISED her, he would never touch her again. And now she probably has another bruise on her arm from his tight grip." he sobbed, unable to stop.

Seeing Derek break down, caused Nora and George to lose it too. Edwin and Lizzie stopped eavesdropping from the top of the stairs, and left to Edwin's room horrified.

"Son, it'll be alright. We'll make him pay for what he did." George told him sternly, comforting his distraught son.

"Nothing's payment enough for what he did." Derek whispered, before pulling away. "I'm sorry but I have to go talk to Casey. She needs me right now." he told them seriously, his eyes pleading.

George and Nora nodded. As upset as they were over what happened, a part of them was more than happy to see Derek this way. Not the miserable side but the protective, caring side they didn't know he possessed to such an extent.

Derek rushed up the stairs to find Casey in his room. Her tears had seemed to stop but once he closed the door behind him, they started fresh again. He sighed and came over to pull her into his arms.

"Sorry I took so long, parents Spanish Inquisition were taking up my time." he said amusedly as he held her.

She giggled. "It's okay. Thanks for telling them. I really couldn't handle retelling it again. How are you holding up?" she asked softly, touching beneath his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. She realized he had been crying. Derek had been _crying_.

He smiled knowingly, seeing her realization at the state of his eyes. "I'll pull through. They asked about your injuries…and…remembering all your pain…" he trailed off, feeling the odd tears he never used to have pushing at his eyelids.

Casey looked shocked but worried about him, so she snuggled closer to him. A single tear slipped from his eye, much to his dismay. She looked up and kissed his cheek to stop its path.

Seeing the change in his eyes, she watched him warily. His hands reached up to push her hair off her face. That was all the encouragement she needed so she moved closer, eager to have their lips touch after all these years of wanting to.

His hand swept around her waist to bring them closer and she winced, stopping their lips millimetres apart. Derek moved back, the apology in his eyes before it left his mouth.

"Oh Case, I keep doing that. I'm so sorry. Did… did he hurt you more tonight?" he asked hesitantly, killing the chances of going back to their previous almost-activity.

She bit her lip, before tugging at her sweater. Derek helped her slide it off. He closed his eyes at the sight of her arm.

She slipped her hand in his. "Derek, it's just a little broken skin. It isn't even bruised very bad. He just grabbed with all nails, not as much force." Her arm had small marks in the shape of crescents and there was only a slightly darker tinge to the tissue around it.

Despite this, when Derek looked up at her, her heart broke a little inside. Tears were falling from his eyes.

"I'm sorry I broke my promise. I-I-" he couldn't continue, stopping to breathe before his crying could overtake him and cause him to break down in front of her.

She squeezed his hands then crawled into his arms. It was just what he wanted. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him, protecting her from the cruel world.

They stayed like that for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

So this next chapter, I just thought the ending was cute, so I figured I'd add it up at the same time as the previous one so you all dont hate me too much :)

Hopefully this story will pick up and get better, I just dont know where I'm going with it right now. I tend to write based on a vague beginning and an even vaguer ending, so the middle always is a bit awkward at times like these. I really will try to make it more interesting really soon ! I just love DASEY so they're will be plenty of cute moments, since they're my favorites :) I'm going to try to make more episode references as well since I watch this show like a religion, even though its over.

Many thanks for all your support and feedback :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

When Nora and George knocked on the door about a half hour later, they were mildly surprised to see the pair laughing together. Casey was lying across Derek's lap and their fingers were interlocked. It wasn't an all too intimate position, but it was something they never would've come across before now.

Derek had been teasing her since they came in to the usual cry of "Der-ek!"

"Now that's something we don't hear everyday." Nora joked amusedly. Both teenagers looked up in surprise. Automatically, Casey's eyes glossed over seeing her mom and George for the first time, knowing they knew everything.

"Casey, we want you to know that we support you and are so sorry we weren't home to take care of you after your trauma. I know that even now it will be hard but as your lawyer, I have to see what kind of state you're in. Please, can we see your injuries? We might have to take you to the hospital." George told her compassionately.

Casey nodded and sat up. Derek helped her out of her shirt, which shocked both Nora and George. They watched them warily. Derek seemed quite comfortable stripping off his step-sister's clothes.

Nora buried her face in George's chest when she saw the state of her daughter. Casey's tears fell down, hitting the only covering of clothing she had on her torso.

"Where does it hurt?" George whispered. It was a little awkward seeing her so undressed but he was more upset by the fact that she was in such pain. Every movement she made, she made gingerly.

"I told you everywhere." Derek hissed, trying not to flare up at anyone but he noticed that the bruises got darker since he had last seen them. Casey recognized his tone and gestured him over. He encircled her waist with his arm, hugging her momentarily.

"Well any spots more than others?" George continued, ignoring Derek and the sudden change in position. He exchanged worried glances with Nora. They knew something different was up with the pair. They were way too touchy-feely.

"Um…here. This one hurt the most. He…it was probably the most force behind it." she changed tact partway through, seeing Derek's nostrils flare at even mentioning 'he'. She knew it wouldn't be wise to fill in a summary.

Derek reached out to touch where she pointed. As his tender touch pressed lightly on her middle, she yelped. He closed his eyes, his hands beginning to shake. He knew what that meant, why she was in so much pain, why she couldn't stretch to put away the first aid kit…

"Derek…" George said warningly. Casey was looking at Derek in confusion. Why was he so angry? He released her to pace the room for a moment.

"Dad, he fucking breaks her rib and obviously bruises the rest and you expect me to be okay with this?" he snarled, not even caring about the unappreciative gasps over his cursing.

Casey looked down guiltily. She knew Derek hated Truman but it was weird seeing him react to haughtily over something to do with her. They were closer now but it didn't erase the past. It took some getting used to.

"Case, we should get you to the hospital." Nora suggested.

Immediately, Casey understood what that would mean and backed away, looking oddly terrified. She crawled back into the safety of Derek's arms. It slowed his shakiness down immensely as he held her once more.

"No Mom, please. Can we just tend to it here a little bit? I'll go in the morning. I just want to be home with my entire family for one night, please? I just need to feel safe." she told her shakily. Derek suddenly understood what she meant. She wanted to stay the night with him again.

Nora sighed. "Fine. But we will go first thing in the morning. For now, get Derek to wrap you up. With all his hockey injury expertise, he should know how to navigate a bandage."

Casey nodded and turned around to look back into Derek's eyes. He smiled softly at her, reassuringly. It was like they suddenly didn't need words to communicate. She understood that he was promising her safety and he knew that she was thanking him.

Nora and George gave them one final glance before leaving to the basement.

"So slumber party in my room again? What, can't get enough of the Venturi charm?" Derek teased her as he fastened her bandage by her ribcage.

She pouted at him, crossing her arms to the best of her ability. "If I wasn't so damaged, I'd take a swing at you."

He chuckled as he began leading her out of the bathroom, after helping her put her shirt back on.

"Yeah but you'd still miss, princess." he teased. She giggled as he helped her down the hall.

"Aren't you putting her in her room?" Lizzie's voice suddenly came. Both of them froze. They didn't know what they were right now so they certainly couldn't explain their relationship to someone else. When they turned, they saw Lizzie had not noticed them but was in fact talking to Edwin who was trying to get Marti to go to sleep, while still on Lizzie's bed.

Once they were under the cover of Derek's room, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your bed is so much more comfortable than mine." Casey said dreamily as she snuggled into the bunches of soft blankets on the bed. Just for her, he had changed them and added fluffier and cleaner additions so she'd be at maximum comfort.

"Perk of being the oldest." he said dryly as he fell back at the headboard. She followed him, cuddling up to him immediately.

They both avoided discussing what was happening, but they both knew the other was aware that this thing between them, that thing that was always under the surface, was finally coming out.

"Case…we should talk about it." he suddenly said.

Panic flooded through her. But she didn't know what she was feeling yet! She couldn't talk about something she didn't understand!

"Talk about what?" she asked in a small voice, stalling.

Derek sighed. "Why you are so against going to the hospital…"

She breathed again.

"I know that you don't want to talk about it with other people but you must want to feel better?" he half-asked, trying to get her to agree.

Casey sighed too. "Of course. But Derek…" she hesitated, nervous to go on. "You…you won't be there to protect me. I feel safe with you. Safer than I do with anyone else. What if he comes there and finds me? I'd be all alone, trapped in a room, I wouldn't be able to escape his grasp and even with security watching over me, they can't stand there the whole night, there would be a single moment where they'd slip up or switch shifts or go get a coffee and he would come and get me! It happens in the movies, that's how they rescue anyone from security-protected rooms. Then what would I do?" she cried.

Derek now understood more where her fears came from. Her sudden terror had surprised him when Nora suggested going to the hospital. And Casey made absolute sense, minus her obsolete rambling.

"Well I could just stay the whole night in your room with you."

She rolled her eyes. "Visiting hours, Derek. Plus a nurse would be in to check on me every so often."

"Ah but if security can slip up so can a nurse. Plus I could hide while she was in there."

"I think security would notice a guy hiding in my room. Or never coming out."

"Well I could dress up as security."

Her eyes went wide at this and then he sighed, realizing he put another fear in her head.

"Oh please, you would know if it was Truman. Plus after tonight he's probably in the hospital himself."

He was going from bad to worse. She squeaked at the thought.

"You know what, I like the staying in your room thing. That's the best plan. And one I won't mess up." he vowed.

She giggled at his attempts to console her.

"Deal, Der." she said affectionately, cuddling back into him.


	7. Chapter 7

So I know you will ALL hate me for this haha but this is the next chapter. I figured I might as well put it up to keep you interested ;)

I'm super stressed on what to do with the next part, as you will see its left for the imagination, but thats mostly because my imagination is running low at the moment thanks to none other than the global epidemic, H1N1. Thankfully you cant catch it via internet, so hope you all are well :)

Main problem is I write without plot which usually goes either way. Its just the way I work, Ive only ever made a plot for a story twice and both were so revolting I threw them out. (After getting marked in school for my plot diagrams and such) Its just the way I work. But Ive been considering a lot of crazy stuff for the next chapters and hopefully it will turn out for the better ! I'm still throwing stuff around but I might keep what I have written for the next couple chapters then add the fun stuff ;) So don't let the suspense get you too bad yet, I can promise it will get wayyy worse in the future ! I know, SORRY!

Love you guys for all your reviews! Dont hesitate, even for flames. I appreciate ANYTHING that will make me a better writer!

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Waking up for the second morning in a row in Derek's arms hadn't lost its novelty. Casey smiled at the soothing sound of his breathing. He was still asleep. She contemplated waking him with a kiss but then inwardly scolded herself for the fantasy that played out in her head. She had to keep her feelings in check.

The thing was…it didn't seem like she was alone in feeling that way. As much as she loved to read into what guys might be feeling, she knew Derek. He didn't act this way with anyone. But the realistic part of her brain reminded her that this was the most caring he had been about her; maybe this was just the caring-step-brother side she had never seen and was confusing with potentially-romantic-feelings-for-her side she wished existed. As sweet as he was being, it might only be brotherly love.

Pouting slightly, she unwound herself from his arms.

"Come on Case, five more minutes…" Derek suddenly mumbled, his voice thick with sleep, pulling on her middle.

She winced in pain. Unconsciously, his hand had been resting right over her sorest spot. She couldn't believe that Truman had actually broken her rib. Luckily it couldn't be that bad of a break otherwise she would've had possible internal bleeding and Derek would've rushed her to the ER that second. It must have only been a fracture. But remembering Derek's fury, she realized that still was unreal.

"Case?" he asked again, cuddling closer to her.

Admitting defeat, she settled back down next to him. She looked over to see him smirking, his eyes still closed.

"I told you I always get what I want." he teased, slumping further into the blankets.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "You can sleep without me here you know."

"Not as well. I haven't slept through the night since my parents divorce. But when you're here I can." he confessed, his voice slightly muffled by his pillow.

Casey blanched. He had to be making that up. Slowly she thought back to the few sleepless nights she had since she moved in. She had always heard him rolling over or moving around but she figured they just happened to both be stressed at the same time. Or that he wasn't feeling well. Or the temperature in his room was off. Or he couldn't get comfortable. She hadn't thought that maybe he was always awake. But wouldn't he go to a doctor or something? Get medication for insomnia? Was that why he stayed up and slept in so late?

"Guess my snoring doesn't keep you up, huh?" she teased.

He chuckled, finally opening his eyes. "You just will not let me sleep."

She shrugged, trying not to smile. He caught the twitch at the corners of her mouth. It always did that when she was doing her best not to laugh at something he said. Usually because it was either rude, obnoxious, or just plain funny and she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of proving she was just as immature as he was and found his comments amusing.

"And no, your snoring doesn't keep me up. I'm usually too distracted by the unattractiveness of your drooling." he said easily, that adorable hint of a smirk residing on his lips.

Casey laughed, taken by surprise for some reason, and shoved him playfully. He took this opportunity to snatch her arms and tickle her stomach, somehow not hurting her minus her stomach muscles as she laughed.

"Der-ek!" she shouted through giggles. He was grinning at her, finally stopping in time for her to catch her breath.

The atmosphere changed between them once again. Casey reached up and brushed some hair off his forehead. His hair was so naturally messy. She looked into his beautiful chocolate eyes. She had never seen such color in someone's eyes. You could see the brown from across the room.

They were so much more interesting than anyone else's. She noticed how they changed color depending on his mood. When he looked at Marti, they were a softer honey brown. When he had been after Truman, they were practically black.

She got lost in his eyes in that moment, not thinking about consequences as she let her fingers brush down his cheek. His skin was softer than she expected, with a hint of morning stubble.

As she looked back at him, she suddenly remembered a part of _New Moon _by Stephenie Meyer where Bella says to Jacob _You know you're sort of beautiful_. Derek was sort of beautiful, in a way she couldn't exactly put into words. She was surprised when his face turned towards her hand so her palm was caressing his face.

He looked back at her, his eye color warming. She felt her breathing hitch. Did that mean…?

A knock on the door made her retract her hand like she had burned herself.

"Derek? Come on, hurry up and get up. We have to take Casey to the hospital." George called in.

Both of them froze. Did he know she was in there? His tone sounded as though he was talking to both of them but he hadn't called her name.

Then she remembered she had loudly called out Derek's when he was tickling her so it wasn't really a mystery she was in there with him. Did that mean the whole family knew they spent the night together?

"I better shower." Casey told him, smiling briefly before climbing off his bed.

About an hour later, they were all showered and put together. The younger siblings hugged Casey goodbye. They didn't know how long she would be gone but their parents figured it would be at least one night. They'd want to run x-rays and tests to find the extent of the damages.

Sure enough, they had to admit her. They sprung for a private room, equipped with en-suite bathroom.

"Very fancy." Derek teased, sitting on the edge of her bed.

For some reason, she slipped her hand into his. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm scared." she whispered, looking to his eyes for comfort.

They softened. "I'm here. I promised. I'll stay with you until you feel safe."

"I'm sorry young man, only family can be in this room. Visiting hours-" the nurse began.

"I'm her step-brother." Derek said, releasing her hand.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to assume…" She was flustered. If he hadn't been radiated by Casey's beauty, he would've thought the young blonde was hot. Derek moved out of her way, inwardly cursing himself. Casey was taming his player side. She seemed to realize this as she watched him in surprise. He didn't pull out the charm, give her his name, or even check her out. Something was obviously wrong with him.

"Alright… Casey?" she half-asked. Casey nodded. She smiled. "You did excellent tending to your injuries. They seem to be healing well. We're going to take a few x-rays just to make sure and run a few tests to make sure your body is functioning normally. I'll be back in a couple minutes but just press the button there if you need anything before then."

She left them alone and Nora and George finally spoke.

"Thanks to you, Derek, she's healing so well." Nora said fondly.

He jumped, startled. He forgot they were there. He felt his face heat up. He hadn't meant to hold her hand and be all cutesy.

"Uh, yeah." he mumbled, not sure what else to say. It's not like there was a need to deny it but he felt weird admitting it for some reason.

"We've told them about not letting a certain someone visit you. Security will be watching over you so there's no need to worry." George told Casey reassuringly.

She nodded, glancing at Derek. He knew she wasn't fully reassured. He sent her a look, reminding her he hadn't forgotten his promise. She smiled shyly at him, tucking her hair behind her ear somewhat nervously.

Against his will, Derek was dragged out of the hospital. There was no need for them to be at the hospital while she was getting tests done and even Nora, the distraught mother, thought they should go home. They didn't want to leave the kids for too long.

Derek doubled back to explain to Casey.

He kissed her forehead. "I'll be back tonight. I promise. You'll be safe for now. Call me if you need anything. I'll have my cell on me all day."

She nodded, smiling after him when he finally turned around and left.

Casey's face broke out into the most beautiful smile Derek had seen when she saw her whole family come through the door of her hospital room later that night. George put the vase of flowers on her bedside table, kissing her forehead delicately. She smiled and thanked him generously, hugging Lizzie tightly when she came over.

Marti climbed up on the bed, throwing her arms around Casey's neck.

"Careful, Marti!" Nora called out, noticing Casey's body twitch.

"It's okay Mom. I missed her too." she said sweetly, ruffling Edwin's hair a little when he came over to hug her too. She was so touched they all came. She really was only there for one night so it wasn't a big deal.

Nora hugged her next. "We only came to check up on you and drop off the flowers. Visiting hours are just about over."

Casey caught Derek's eye worriedly. He smirked, cocking an eyebrow. She smiled in return. She knew that look. It was his I-can-get-away-with-murder-I'm-so-sneaky. He must have taken the Prince, meaning they could all leave without him without raising suspicion.

"Now that we're done with Space-Case, can I head over to Sam's now?" Derek said, smirking at her so she understood.

George rolled his eyes. "Yes, we better go. Have a good night, Case."

Casey smiled, glancing at Derek momentarily. "I will. Thank you all so much for coming."

"Anytime."

The hair on the back of her neck stood up at the sound of the replying voice. She felt her body begin to shake in fear, her eyes widen. Truman French was standing in her doorway.


	8. Chapter 8

Finally up ! Sorry, I was trying to mess with this one a little to get it where I wanted it but I think Ill just leave it how it was and make some bigger moves in the chapters to come ! I may eventually go back and switch some info around but I'll let you know when I do !

A big thank you to **kmr04** for your wonderful ideas, that I have incorporated into this chapter (those who are wondering what, check the reviews!), along with a thank you to all of the rest of you for your wonderful support ! I appreciate it more than I can explain !

As for **Dom-Jam** and **Frogster**, I'm still writing and I swear they are coming ! Thanks so much for your input !

Just a note, in this story, I don't know if its actually true, the internet sucks for giving general policies for hospitals in London Ontario, but in this case, no one is allowed to accompany patients overnight in their room, even family. I know that Casey has a private room and all that jazz, but it just isn't done, kay ? Haha but she's only there the one night so I'm sure they'd assume she can survive without company for a few hours. She's just there to be monitored anyways.

Oh also the ending to this was what really bothered me, but hey, who can resist Derek? ;)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

The whole family stood there speechless as the cocky assaulter leisurely leaned against the door frame. Nora automatically pushed the younger kids behind her.

George was the first to speak. "Security!" he yelled.

Derek moved forward before he had a second thought.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE TRUMAN UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE HOSPITALIZED TOO!" he threatened, lunging at him fists raised. George caught him around the middle as Derek shook in rage, trying to break free. He forgot how strong his son was. It was harder to restrain him than he expected.

Nora's face was distorted with rage. "Don't ever set foot near this family again. I mean it Truman, don't fucking tempt me!" she yelled, Lizzie automatically holding the back of her shirt. She had been inching forward with each word and Lizzie and Edwin had no idea what she would do if she wasn't protecting them.

"NOW TRUMAN!" Nora screeched when he didn't move.

"And miss the opportunity to see my girl-" Truman began, rather amusedly.

Whether the force surprised George or he just didn't care anymore, Derek broke out of his hold and shoved Truman out of the room and against the opposite wall in the hallway. There were many loud reactions out there and in Casey's room but Derek couldn't think of anything besides the fact that he wanted to kill the man in front of him. He wanted to rip him limb from limb to make him feel a fraction of the pain he had put Casey through.

"She is not yours. She never was." Derek snarled in his ear, holding him by the scruff of his shirt.

"Well she sure as hell isn't yours." Truman replied, breathing heavily due to the pressure on his chest. He was currently being squashed by a rather strong teenage athlete. Hockey kept him in excellent shape.

"Oh Truman, another place you're mistaken, she's always been mine." he hissed.

"You two can take this outside." a security officer said sternly, separating them.

"He can be escorted. He is not allowed near my step-sister. I don't know how he got here, but please keep him far away." Derek added and somehow didn't get asked to leave again, considering he was the one about to kill the jerk now being escorted by security outside.

He went back inside and immediately, without even thinking an extra second about it, wrapped his arms around Casey who cried a little into his shoulder.

"I told you. You're safe with me." he told her softly, looking directly in her wet eyes. She nodded.

Edwin and Lizzie's eyes went huge. Marti still looked upset. Luckily, Nora had calmed down now that Truman was removed from the building. She was currently stroking Casey's hair.

"Smerek, why did you act like that? You scared me." his little sister whispered.

Derek finally realized what he'd been like. He was lucky he wasn't disowned for acting like that in front of the younger siblings.

"Aw Smarti, I'm sorry. He is a very bad man. He hurt Casey." he trailed off. He couldn't explain too much without it coming out wrong. He didn't want Marti to think that it was acceptable behaviour. "But I was bad too. I'm sorry I scared you."

"You scared all of us, dude. We didn't expect you to react like that." Edwin confessed.

"He was worse when he first saw Truman, trust me." Casey said without looking up. Derek flushed. He was now considered a raging psychopath. Great.

"Nora surprised me." Derek said, a smirk coming to his face.

The others laughed a little.

"I know, you'd think it would be me pulling out the tae kwon doe. But Mom was taking over." Lizzie said proudly.

Nora grinned sheepishly."Either way, we'll have another more serious word with security before we leave. Come on kids, we better go. Derek, we'll see you…?"

"How about I meet you here tomorrow morning? I'm staying over at Sam's anyways." he said a little too quickly.

His dad looked over...and seemed to see right through it.

_Oh no. _Derek thought, preparing for the unsubtle hints about visiting hours, security watching over, nurse checkups, etc but he got nothing.

"Yes, I think that would be best." George said, sending Derek an approving look that he understood to be: _Take good care of her tonight._

Derek smiled.

"Uh Derek, before you go, can I talk to you?" Casey asked. The rest of the family left out of the room with final waves.

He sat next to her on the edge of her bed.

"You're not really going to Sam's right?" she whispered.

"Of course not. What kind of boyfriend leaves their girl all alone?" he teased. When he saw her eyes widen, he thought back to what he said. "Uh…just a joke Case, because of what the nurse thought?" he reminded her quickly of earlier.

She sighed. She had felt her hopes go up, even though his statement didn't make sense.

"Of course. Sorry, I forgot she thought that."

"Visiting hours are just about over." Speak of the devil, the blonde nurse was back. This time Derek let his eyes wander. She had a great body but…he was unimpressed. Even though Casey lay next to him in one of those hospital dresses, her hair messy from a day of lying down and her lips slightly dried out from the air, he still found her beautiful.

It was official. He had cracked.

"And I'll be here as long as they let me." he replied, his voice smoothing just slightly with effort. He had to get on her good side. She'd probably catch him in here later.

"Unless I kick you out now." she said pointedly, raising an eyebrow as if asking for a challenge. Oh he would.

"I'll be back, Case." he mouthed, winking at her. She nodded, looking a little unsure.

Derek waited patiently outside her room until the nurse came out. As she started to close the door, she jumped when she saw Derek leaning there with a smirk on his face.

"Look uh…" she paused, realizing she didn't know his name.

"Derek Venturi." he introduced, striking a hand out to shake hers. When her hand clasped his, he pulled her closer to him. She looked quite startled.

"Um, yes, Derek. You know the rules. No one is allowed in there after visiting hours. I'm sorry but you must let your step-sister rest. Go home and sleep. You probably need it after your day." she told him quickly.

Derek smiled smugly. She was flustered by him. He absolutely loved the genes he got that made him charmingly irresistible.

"But I'm family, and I won't make a sound. She won't even know I'm there. My step-sister was just assaulted by her ex-boyfriend and she's still shaken up. I have been staying with her the last few nights to make her feel safe. She's terrified. He got past security earlier, he could do it again. I can't take that chance." he explained, his hand running down her arm now. "What can I do to convince you I have purely good intentions?" he asked softly against her ear.

On cue, she sighed, shivering a little at the contact of his breath.

"Um…well…" she stuttered.

Derek smiled. She looked up at him, taken over by his dashing good looks no doubt, and pulled on his leather jacket to kiss him.

As much as Derek loved Casey, at least he could get some thoughts out of his system with this blonde chick. She obviously wanted him more than he realized. He kissed her back, his hands resting on the small of her back as she reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him harder. His hand brushed through her hair before she leapt up to wrap her legs around his waist.

Okay, so she really wanted him. Derek felt a little weirded out. She was obviously lonely. He felt sort of sorry that he was taking advantage of her but he just had to do everything he could to keep his promise.

Somehow, Casey gave him a conscience. He released her.

"Britney." he said, realizing he had to glance at her nametag to know her name. "You are absolutely fabulous and normally I would ask if you wanted to take this somewhere more private, but my step-sister needs me."

"And you're in love with her." she inputted, surprising him. She laughed. "Oh please, why do you think I mixed up your relationship earlier? I think it's sweet actually. You can stay, as long as I can't see you when I go in there."

Derek bit his lip, wondering where he could hide. Before she left, she glanced back. "Please tell your step-sister that the cleaning staff won't be reaching the bathroom until the morning." she added pointedly. He grinned in thanks before slipping inside Casey's room once more.

* * *

Sorry just thought I'd mention again how much I hated that ending. But hey, I needed somebodyyyy to show him how much Casey was changing him ;)

She's his blonde type...but she's also smart since she's in nursing....but Casey is still the object of his affection :) I like to pretend she's only about a year older than him, that she's onthejob training for first year university. In case you thought she was some cougar haha.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay so I literally wrote this in ten minutes, a minute ago, so PLEASE excuse the horribleness as no revision is done but I wanted to put it out before I added the next chapter. I may go through and switch some wording around and other such editing at some point but this is it for now, Ill let you know if that changes !

Special thanks to Dom-Jam for the idea ! I wanted to do something like this but I thought it would be choppy switching POVs like that but who cares?! Its important so thanks for the kick in the pants ;)

Hope you guys are still enjoying the story! Thanks to you all for the AWESOME reviews! Ill update again ASAP but for now I have to finish shoveling food in my mouth and go to work!

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the McDonald-Venturi clan returned to their now quiet house. It was weird, the eeriness that came from the silence. Even though the main outbursts of noise came from the feuding teenagers, even the littlest noises were absent when the five entered the house. It didn't quite feel right without them there.

George gestured to Nora that he needed to speak with her, _alone_, and she followed him confusedly to the kitchen. He looked awfully worried. He kept glancing at the other three kids, as if they were suddenly going to jump up and yell 'Aha!'

"What is it, George?" she asked, lowering voice despite the double sliding doors blocking them from being heard. Edwin and Lizzie weren't exactly unfamiliar with eavesdropping to say the least.

He sighed heavily, beginning to pace behind the island. He stopped and gripped the counter, looking directly in her eyes. "Nora, I think that something we talked about a long time ago…is happening now. Finally." he said firmly.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She knew what he was referring to. "Why are you so sure? Couldn't Derek just finally be a nice brother? Or finally own up to his emotions that he's always buried? He just admitted that he cares for her. There's no reason to alert the media."

George exhaled, his breath shaking slightly in irritation. He knew she'd be like this. As much as he loved Nora, she wasn't a big fan of things not going her way. She was more negotiable than Casey, but Casey had inherited it from someone.

"Nora…have you not been noticing the way they look at each other now? You know it hasn't just been as of late. But I think they're finally owning up to it, both to themselves and soon to each other. He's staying overnight with her for heaven's sakes, and as much as Derek loves breaking the rules for a thrill, he doesn't do the big games unless he has a big reason. And I think that reason is his feelings for Casey. He cares about her, yes, but it's more than that now. You saw how he reacted to Truman. He may be angry for what he did, but that level of anger has more feelings behind it than that and you know it." he said seriously.

Nora nodded. "I suppose you're right. But what will we do with this news? We can't control them. They're moving out in a couple months, to go to the same university for crying out loud. And they'll be eighteen soon. We won't be able to tell them who they can and can't date."

"I know, but for now we can set ground rules. If we've earned enough of their respect over the years, they should listen despite their future situation." George finished.

"You don't like it, do you?" Nora asked, watching him closely. She had grown to understand every change of level in his voice. She could hear the uneasiness.

"Not really. But they're almost adults. Can't boss 'em around forever." he said light-heartedly, but his eyes didn't quite match his fake smile.

"We always knew it would happen. It was just a matter of when. Now is actually not too bad of timing. They'll be out of the house soon which means we won't have to worry about dealing with their hormones under our roof, or the kids walking in on them making out or being un-familial. I just hope it turns out for the better." Nora added softly.

"Well put two kids who dominate their previous homes under the same roof and you either get a fatal disaster or they fall in love. We just happened to get a bit of both."

Nora suddenly smiled, her big light-up-her-face smile. "But they have always been SO in love! I can't help but be a little excited for them. I mean, Casey needs someone like Derek to keep her on her toes. She gets bored so easily. And Derek needs someone to ground him, make him more mature. I think it could be the best thing for both of them. They better not mess it up."

"Let's hope not, unlike someone we know. We really should discuss how we're going to handle the Truman situation…" he began, then seeing the dewiness of his wife's eyes he pulled her into a hug. "Oh Nora, I know…sweet, innocent, trusting Casey…it just isn't right…"

Lizzie and Edwin chose that moment to stop listening at the door. They had overheard the parents entire conversation. Casey and Derek in love huh? Not that it really surprised them. They had had a secret file on it since the day the McDonald's moved in.

"What did he mean about Derek staying overnight and breaking the rules? I thought Derek was going to Sam's?" Edwin said as they headed upstairs.

Lizzie hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, looking over at Marti who was sitting by the coffee table, holding her giant lizard. As little as Marti knew about the details, she knew something big was going on in the house. You couldn't get anything past Marti. She held her lizard tight to her chest, lost in thought. Her eyes were sad.

"Uh, I guess Derek was lying or something…" Lizzie replied absent-mindedly, only half-listening, biting her lip. She wanted to take care of Marti but she and Edwin needed to discuss this new info. It was big stuff, bigger than they'd ever scooped up.

"We should bring Marti upstairs with us." Edwin said, nodding in her direction. "She looks like a lost puppy right now. I mean, spare the details, but I feel weird leaving her alone right now."

Lizzie nodded, glad Edwin agreed with her. Not that they didn't agree on pretty much everything, except humour and food choices.

Edwin walked over and knelt beside her, speaking gently to her. She looked up with her sad brown eyes and he was startled at their likeness to Derek's. Maybe that's why Derek loved his Smarti so much, it was like looking at himself and he loved himself. Edwin was surprised he hadn't caught it before. They always had that mischievous glint in them, like her older brother, but today all traces were gone.

Marti trudged up behind them, dragging her lizard. She remained quiet.

"Hey Marti, guess what we just overheard?" Edwin asked, desperate to change his sister back to normal.

"Edwin!" Lizzie hissed, shooting an elbow into his rib.

"Ouch! Jeez, I'm just trying not to leave Marti out of the loop again." he said, knowing how upset Marti had been when everyone had had secrets before Casey and Derek's prom.

"No, tell me!" Marti said, her eyes suddenly alight with excitement.

Lizzie sighed. She couldn't take that away.

"Dad and Nora think Casey and Derek are in love with each other." Edwin said.

Marti went into a fit of giggles. "That's your big news? Wow, I've known that for years! Why are older people so dumb." she said, walking off to her room. She seemed content to be alone now.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Anyways, besides the fact that we need to worry about Marti taking over the world since she's way too smart, do you really think that Casey and Derek will finally stop being so completely and utterly stupid?"

"I don't know, it has been a long time coming huh? I mean, it was always kind of in the shadows, lurking, but they fought so much it was hard to see it sometimes. I mean sure they were never me and you but they had their nice moments. It always just seemed that they could never be brother and sister…but they had a shot at being friends. Even though the rest of us see each other as family, it was always clear that they didn't see each other that way. It was a sort of an unspoken truth. But I guess all that fighting was just sexual tension building up!" Edwin said triumphantly.

"Ewww, Edwin can I remind you we are talking about our brother and sister here? It's weird to think of them like that…especially after…" she trailed off.

Edwin's face fell. He hadn't meant to remind her of the scum that interrupted their visit that night.

"Oh Liz…" he said softly, putting an arm around her shoulder and squeezing. She turned into his hug, resting her head on his clavicle as her tears began to fall.

"I just can't believe it. I mean, we knew he was scum because of that party in Toronto…but to do this? I don't know how Casey'll pull through. She acts so strong sometimes but I know she's fragile. She has trouble trusting people with her heart but when she does, she gives it all to them. He ripped hers to pieces. I've never seen her like this, so broken. As if the bruises and physical pain wasn't bad enough…" she whispered, her voice cracking more as she went on.

"Derek will take care of her. He really cares about her, Liz. You saw what happened the other night." Edwin reminded her.

She nodded. "I wish I could help. Casey's always taking care of me. I feel so helpless." she muttered, her anger obviously targeted towards herself, not him.

"Right now, we are helping. We've got to give her that shred of normality to get her back on track. You know how Casey likes routine." he said, chuckling lightly.

Lizzie arched an eyebrow at him. "When did you get so smart?"

Edwin grinned. "Marti's been rubbing off on me with Derek out of the house."


	10. Chapter 10

Okay so I promise that the next chapters will pick up ! Something big is coming ! I just don't know exactlyyyy how I'm going to map it out so I'll be a little slow! But I hope you are enjoying it and let me know via reviewsssssssssss :)

Anyways I decided to put this one up with the other one because, well, we've all been waiting for it... ;) Plus I fixed the small but important part I didnt like :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Derek came inside to find Casey putting lip balm on, blushing when she saw him. She had obviously fixed her hair since he had been gone. This made him smile. She knew he was the only one she was going to see for the rest of the night so it was obviously just for him.

He sat in the chair next to her. She pouted, causing him to laugh.

"Casey, I'm already pushing it staying here with you tonight, I think sharing a bed would only make it worse." he teased.

"Well if you're already going to hell…?" she asked teasingly, moving over to give him space.

Sighing, and with a typical roll of the eyes, he climbed beside her. She cuddled into him and his whole body relaxed as her scent filled his nose. It was a little tainted by the hospital smells but when he smelled her hair, it was definitely still hiding in there.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, she spoke. "Thanks for what you did today. I know it took a lot of control for you not to…" she hesitated, not sure exactly what to fill the blank with.

He smirked. "I'm lucky I didn't get kicked out. I freaked the family out." he said, his remorse obvious in his tone. He thought of the look on his little sister's face. She must think he was a monster. He had cursed in front of her and everything.

"They know you were just being protective. I think your hostility surprised them more than anything. They didn't think you'd get that mad over something to do with me. It's not like we've always been…the way we have since that night…" she trailed off, not wanting to remind him that they used to fight constantly and dislike each other everyday.

She looked back to him finally, waiting for the sneer, the release of his arms, the realization that things had changed between them. He had to be feeling it too. She couldn't bear to lose him. She loved this thing with him, however confusing and reckless it was, it was what she had been missing. It was something worth fighting for.

But he didn't. He did the complete opposite.

"Oh you mean this thing…" he whispered softly, leaning close to her and finally, _finally_, pressing his lips against hers in a hesitant kiss.

Casey's eyes shut in unison with his, as she slid her fingers into his soft hair. He captured her bottom lip in his, sucking lightly.

She was surprised by his tenderness. She always assumed his kissing was hormone-driven which equalled steamy and aggressive. But as his lips slipped over hers, he was more gentle than anyone she had ever kissed.

Slowly, and still kissing, they slid back in a more comfortable lying position. Derek held his body over hers, his fingers brushing her hair away from her face to get better access to her mouth, followed by her neck when she needed air. Her mind flashed to who last had his mouth there but Derek's tenderness quelled any reminders of that night.

Impatiently, she tilted her face back to his, so thankful she put lip balm on, and pulled his lips back onto hers. His body responded by rolling on its side, his hand reaching down and hitching her leg on his hip to anchor their bodies together.

Everything was slow and beautiful in a way. Casey accidentally let out a quiet moan when his tongue slipped inside her mouth to caress hers. She felt his smirk below her lips and that was when she pulled away, breathless.

She was nervous to look into his eyes. She didn't want to see regret. But there was no regret, only peacefulness. He smiled, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

"So…looks like you know my biggest secret." he teased, causing her to giggle. They could never be serious with one another.

"So it seems. Derek…" she began, torn on where to start.

"Case, let's not. Not yet. You can do your Super Keener Analysis later. I want to enjoy this. I've been waiting a while." he teased, kissing her once again.

"How long?" she piped up curiously, her voice muffled slightly against his lips.

He simply rolled his eyes and went back to kissing her.

Her hands coiled around his neck. "But don't you think we should at least think about what we're doing? I mean, think of what everyone at school will say, plus our parents and siblings... what will it do to the family? And Emily had a crush on you forever and she pretends she's over it but you know, hardly convincing…" Casey rambled as he kissed along her collarbone.

"We'll work through it. It'll be all worth it, trust me. Everyone already knows anyways, they always have." he told her before moving back to her lips.

She kissed him back, mulling it over. Had everyone really suspected their feelings all along? Probably. Casey sighed inwardly. She talked about Derek non-stop, like some crazy celebrity fan, but he was always doing something to her! She thought back to all the eye rolls that came up when she mentioned his name and had known at the time they were targeted at her but she never really understood why. Now she figured it was because they thought she was being completely clueless. Which she obviously was.

Then at home there was the whole fighting constantly thing. She remembered with a blush the looks they got from Lizzie and Edwin when they were wrestling on the floor over the remote. She couldn't help it if her hands had to explore around her step-brother to find it. And okay, maybe she took advantage to touch his muscular arms or abdomen but it was all in search for the instrument behind his back obviously. Yeah.

Plus all the times they fought over the bathroom. And everything. It involved getting up in each others faces, shouting, insults, and now that Casey looked back, pure sexual tension building up with each argument. The passion they had for getting on each other nerves or proving the other wrong was still passion nonetheless. How had she denied her feelings for as long as she did without bursting?

Right when she was about to get really into it, Derek broke away. He smiled, running a hand through her hair. "You're really beautiful, you know that?" he asked softly, watching his fingers slide easily through her long brown hair.

She blushed, typically. "Oh Derek…quit with your charming antics, they won't work on me…" she teased.

He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they did already."

"Good point." she pouted, trying not to smile. He tickled her until she started giggling too loudly.

"Keep it down Case, we don't want to get caught." he reminded her, pretending like she was being overly loud on her own accord.

"Der-ek! It's your fault-" she began but he held a finger to his mouth and she shut up instantly. He lowered himself further in the bed as security paced by her door.

"This is going to be harder than I thought…" he murmured.

"Don't leave!" she suddenly panicked, latching onto him like a life raft. He sent her a look and she sheepishly loosened her grip but didn't move away.

"I wasn't going to. I plan on keeping my word. Are you tired yet? We could just sleep?" he suggested as he got comfortable. The hospital beds weren't the best and it was a little crowded with two tall teenagers clustered on it. They were used to sharing double beds. But they made do.

Casey bit her lip, thinking it over. She didn't want their night together to end. She knew that when they went home tomorrow they couldn't be like this.

"Not yet." she whispered, pulling herself back to his height and kissing him enthusiastically. She heard a low pleased rumble in his throat.


	11. Chapter 11

Okay so this is the next one. The next chapter is SUPER important, when you learn that not everything is how it seems ;) It will include a flashback to the night at Smelly Nelly's for all those who wanted it, especially you **Frogster** :D

As for this chapter, I hope **JustMelody321**, this answers your question! :)

Loving your reviews of course, thanks for all your ideas you guys are fabulous ! For those who have been following this story every chapter, it means SO much but anyone who takes the time to read it, much appreciated as well !

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Derek smirked underneath Casey's lips when he heard her stomach growl loudly. They were cuddled together on her bed, kissing leisurely, and it was obvious it had been a while since she'd eaten. In fact, Derek hadn't eaten since about six and it was the middle of the night. He was going to lose weight at this rate, he always ate before bed.

Pulling away, Derek couldn't help but chuckle. "Need me to get you something to eat?"

Casey propped herself up on her elbows. "No…but if you want to, you can." she said, grinning encouragingly. He rolled his eyes, still amused though he tried to hide it.

"Am I even allowed to feed you? What would your nurse say?" he teased.

"Well she might go on about how good a kisser you are…" Casey countered, throwing him off guard. Giggling, she kissed him lightly. "Oh please, I heard everything. I went to the bathroom to freshen up but then I saw you two. I thought you had feelings for her…" she trailed off, but Derek could detect the underlying hurt in her tone.

He tilted her chin up with his hand. "Case, I do not get… " he hesitated on the word. Despite her ability to bring out his softer, more vulnerable side, he still wasn't a big fan of serious talks. "…feelings… that easily. She kissed me, and I responded because I'm a guy. She's hot."

Casey avoided his eyes, shifting so her face was no longer in his hands.

He sighed. "Case…"

She sniffled quietly and Derek covered his face in his hands. He already made her cry and they weren't even officially dating yet.

"It's fine Derek. I get it. She's perfect. She is your blonde type, only she's smart like me. I knew I was only a toy to you…I knew it was too good to be true… you were just bored of waiting around and now you've found someone better so it's okay. Feel free to leave now and go to Sam's. Or better yet, her place, and then you can have mind blowing sex and play 'doctor'…" Casey said, her voice wobbling more now.

Derek could not believe she went from joking about Britney to imaging the worst. Girls were so complicated.

"Casey! Will you listen to me for a minute? Jeez, you said guys don't listen. You won't even let me get a word in!" he said exasperatedly, irritated. It didn't take much for her to get under his skin.

She glanced over at him. He took that as his cue to continue.

"You don't get it. Yes, I think she's hot. Just like you gush over Hayden Christiansen or some other attractive guy despite your feelings for someone… "

"Well I don't make out with them when I know I have someone infinitely better now do I?" Casey asked rhetorically, crossing her arms to match her grumpy tone.

"_Casey_. Listen!" he shouted, forgetting he was supposed to be quiet in his frustration. She looked back at him, glaring at his volume. He didn't care. "Sure we kissed, made out, whatever, but it didn't mean anything. She doesn't make me feel like you do." he confessed, blushing hardcore. "When I first saw her in here, she was the object of every male's fantasy, but I couldn't help but be blown away by scraggly you."

Casey huffed at his attempt of a compliment.

He smiled, he could see the pink flooding her cheeks. "You…you're the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Or…seen. You…" he trailed off.

He couldn't voice his feelings very well. It was already a stretch saying what he said. He couldn't tell her how flawlessly beautiful she was. And that it was such natural beauty. And that when he first saw her, he didn't hesitate to insult her because he knew if he even paused for a second it might slip out that he thought she was gorgeous. And that no girl could compare to her, because no one made him want to be better, at everything.

She challenged him without realizing, made him want to try harder at school, at hockey, at being a good brother or son. She didn't know that even though she cursed his name time and time again, she made him more self-confident than he ever had been when she expressed her feelings for him.

He had been feeling this way for so long, and he knew that Casey only deserved the best. It was like by saying that she was interested in him, he was the best. His cocky persona was always a mask, hiding his deep insecurity that he would never be loved, just a temporary toy.

That's why he dated around like he did. Sure experimenting and getting to know different types of people, but because he wanted to be making the decision of when they were done with him, not the other way around. With Casey, he knew that he couldn't do that, that he'd have to own up to the fact that he was terrified of commitment, and the fact that he couldn't control when it ended.

He would have to jump in head first into the unknown, and if she didn't choose him for the long term, he would simply fall. The scariest part was how much of him she had without trying. It was enough to break him.

But Casey knew him well and seemed to understand. She smiled, looking fully into his eyes. She ran a hand through his hair and crawled over, ducking her head under his chin. His arms encircled her, sighing thankfully. Everything felt better with her in his arms.

"I like this side of you. The side that cares how I feel and feels bad when you hurt me." she murmured conversationally.

"I've always cared. I just didn't want to show it. Sometimes a mask is better than reality." he admitted without thinking.

She looked up to his eyes. He really didn't want to get into it. She may want to be some type of doctor one day, but he wasn't about to convince her to go into psychiatry but talking about his deep rooted feelings. So he changed the subject.

"Still want food?" he teased, poking her stomach.

She giggled, ignoring their previous serious moment. "It's the middle of the night. I doubt you'll find anything good. But chocolate would be welcome. Hospital food isn't that great." she added, scrunching up her nose.

Derek smirked. "Well Britney will be visiting soon so I'll duck out now. See you in a few minutes, I'll try to be quick. But you know me and sneaking, I get a little carried away." he added amusedly, kissing her forehead before sliding off the bed.

"Derek?" her small voice came.

He turned back, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled nervously. "I'll miss you." she muttered, her face bright red. It seemed she had second thoughts about saying so as the words spilled out.

He really wanted to be his usual jerk self and scoff and make fun of her, but she was so vulnerable and sincere he didn't have the heart. "I'll miss you too Space-Case."

He squeezed her hand before slipping out of the door.


	12. Chapter 12

So here is the much anticipated flashback ! :) It took a different turn than I expected but here it is ! As you can see, certain things seem to be unfolding in ways you might not have expected....if you did, good job since when I wrote it I didnt even know I was going this route !

Anyways hope it does the story justice. If I hadve known it was going this way I wouldve adjusted some info back in the other chapters. Again I may one day do this but for now Im letting the writing take a mind of its own ! Hope you all dont mind!

Thanks for the reviews, keep them up, I loveeeee getting feedback from you guys ! Its like my FUEL ! :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Derek made his way to the end of the hall, after doing some rather lame James Bond moves involving tucking and rolling, and holding a fake gun up to his face as he glanced around for a sign of anyone wandering the hospital. As he turned the corner, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the startled scream that met his ears.

"Holy shit Derek, don't do that! I'll have to be admitted here if you ever do that again…" Britney said, gasping for her breath back.

Derek smirked, crossing his arms with a cocked eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be kicking me out? You're not supposed to see me, remember?" he teased. Why he was asking was the real question since he didn't want to be kicked out. He had to get back to Casey.

"I'll let it slide since I was mildly distracted by my sudden heart attack." she told him sarcastically, shaking her head at him.

Derek chuckled. It was so easy to joke around with her. "Well you wouldn't happen to know where a vending-"

He stopped talking, and his expression iced over. Britney actually backed up a step on human instinct, sensing danger.

"Derek…?" she started as his breathing became heavier.

"I told you to get out of here. I told you to stay away." he spat out menacingly.

Britney was bewildered, but she followed his gaze past her shoulder to see Truman.

"Derek, I've been waiting to find you. I have to talk to you. You need to give me a chance to explain…" Truman began, his eyes wide as if with innocence. Truman didn't have innocence. He had a serious brain dysfunction if he thought Derek would talk to him or let him near Casey.

"Mr. French go back to your room. I'll settle this." Britney said sternly. Truman looked ready to argue but complied and left down the hall. That's when Derek snapped back to reality.

"What do you mean 'room'? He's staying here?!" he shouted.

She shushed him irritably. "Derek, there's stuff you don't know. And he has injuries too you know."

Derek scoffed. "Yeah, I would know since I'm the one who gave them to him."

Her eyes widened. "You were the one who beat him up?" she asked, shocked.

He was bewildered by her surprise. "Have you seen Casey? Do you even know what he did? I had already started on him the night before, but then he tried it all again…I couldn't let him get away with it so I lost it at the restaurant…"

Britney sighed. "Violence doesn't solve anything. I just assumed his injuries were from Casey defending herself." Derek scoffed at this, but she ignored him and continued. "And if you already did it once, why would you go at him again the next night? I mean, I get it, you hate him, but why in such a public place? He might press charges and ruin your future." she said, sounding concerned.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Everyone thinks I have one of those." he muttered amusedly. "It's what…Casey told me he said…and what happened afterwards…"

"Which was…?" Britney coaxed, knowing he wanted to tell her but unsure whether or not to.

He sighed and thought back to the night before.

_Casey and Derek entered Smelly Nelly's laughing as they reminisced about the short time Casey spent as a waitress. It had infuriated her even more that Derek was great at it. He greeted a couple coworkers before getting them their sundaes and settling down at a nearby booth, away from the crowd._

_Casey looked a lot happier with a fudge sundae in front of her._

"_Wasn't it this very booth that you told off the manager for talking to me like that?" she asked, smiling at the memory of how he defended her, quitting because the manager had been rude and 'only he was allowed to talk to his step-sister that way.'._

_He smirked. "Yeah that was fun. The owner begged me to come back, and I was an assistant manager. I got the better end of that deal. He got demoted." he said with a chuckle. "Then after you left Sally came along…"_

_Casey's eyes changed, but she looked away before Derek could see what it was._

"_How have you been…about her…" she asked apprehensively._

_Derek spooned at his sundae. "Uh fine I guess…I mean I saw her last night for a bit…" he added it offhandedly but Casey's eyes shot up._

"_She's back in town? And when? You were with me all night…oh…my god, Derek, why didn't you say something? I would've just called someone else-" realizing partway through when he must have been seeing her._

_Derek looked at her like she sprouted feelers, cutting her off. "Don't be ridiculous. You needed me. Not just for a drive. I couldn't have a good evening knowing you were in trouble. She was just here for a couple days anyways…and I'm actually glad you called when you did…stopped me from doing something stupid…" he confessed quietly, his face blank but the blush creeping up his neck, betraying his cool tone._

_Casey looked up, understanding somehow exactly what he was talking about. "You guys were going to… Well it would've made things harder but you let her leave once before, it's not as though you couldn't do it again…" she said awkwardly, at an attempt to be supportive._

_The corners of Derek's lips curled, fighting a smile. "Never after we did that though." he said pointedly. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze. Her mouth had fallen open._

"_Never…?" she asked, her brow furrowed as if extremely confused. Derek coughed back a chuckle. She looked adorable that confused. It took a lot to get her there._

"_Never. I know it might not seem like it, Case…but I'm not going to give that away to just anyone. Yeah, I really liked Sally, maybe even loved, but that doesn't mean it was right to give that to her. It was already not feeling right before you called so quit looking so guilty." he said irritably, but with a touch of affection. "So can we stop discussing my virginity at my workplace?"_

_She giggled, bringing her out of her confused state. "Sorry. I just…thought differently. I thought it was long gone…I mean you're a player…"_

"_I date around not sleep around." he said a touch of anger his voice. She looked surprised. He always knew she thought that, but it didn't please him. He wished she thought he had more self-respect than that._

"_I didn't think you slept around exactly…I …well I figured Sally was the girl who meant the most to you. I figured you would've lost it to her. I mean, at least you had a choice…" she trailed off, her eyes glossing over._

_Derek exhaled heavily. They had gotten to the topic they'd been avoiding all night. She hadn't been raped, but she got very close to having something precious stolen from her._

"_Case…if you want to talk about it…" he said comfortingly, reaching a hand out to touch her arm._

"_I-I…thanks." she settled on, forcing a smile slightly. "I just…I keep remembering all he said."_

_Derek looked confused. She hadn't mentioned anything he had said. He realized now it made sense that he would've been telling her a bunch of shit the whole time but all he cared about at the time was her physical state and controlling her crying._

"_Casey…what did he say to you?" he asked, softer than before._

_She sighed shakily, her tears pushing at her eyelids now. "A lot of stuff…he just kept saying how he'd wanted…to… " she broke off, only continuing because of the boy's thumb brushing along her arm, urging her to continue. "…_bang _me for so long." she finished, exhaling painfully. "That no one would want to put up with me…my personality…they just would use my body…I would die alone waiting for a nice romantic guy…I-I wasn't worth anyone's time…he thought I would be desperate enough to give up my virginity to him by now…but that….that he knew I was in love with someone else…and thought I was sick…then just the words he said about me…how…hot and sexy I was…when he was trying to take off my clothes… and then right before you got there…" she broke off, tears choking her for a moment._

"_What Case, please tell me…" he whispered. He had only seen her that scared yesterday when she was near Truman. She calmed down after he took her away._

_She looked up at him, holding his gaze. "That he'd find me…that it wasn't over… "_

_Derek's eyes blackened. She held in her sobs, remembering they were in a public place._

"_He won't touch you. I promise." Derek reminded her, then looked around. "Let me get you some tissue or something…"_

_He got up from their booth, beginning to search at the front counter for the tissue. He knew there was some there the other day. _

"_Derek, there's some napkins there, that'll be fine…" her voice came from behind him. He was surprised she followed when she looked like such a mess._

"_No I'll get some from behind the counter. Wait here." he told her, smiling warmly at her. This seemed to relax her. He didn't often smile genuinely at her. He was so used to pulling the emotionless, irritable step-brother._

_She waited patiently as he disappeared behind the counter, searching for a Kleenex box._

_She froze when she felt a tight hand on her arm, gaping in fear when she saw who it belonged to as he yanked her roughly away, hurrying to avoid Derek._

"_Let's talk more privately…" Truman whispered, a smirk coming to his face._

"_Derek!" she squeaked finally, struggling against Truman's tight grasp._

_Derek knew something was wrong instantly. He jumped up, whipping open the counter flap, and rushed over, smashing his fist onto Truman's forearm to loosen his grip of Casey's bicep._

_Casey ran off behind the counter for safety while Derek continued to smash his fist, moving to Truman's stomach to continue._

_He would not get away for planting the insecurities into Casey's head. He would not get away with touching her like he did. He would not get away with causing the break in Derek's promise. He would not get away with terrifying Casey beyond repair. He would not get away with what he said. He would not get away with trying to do it all over again. He would not get away with _anything_ he did._

_The two guys fell to the floor, Truman fighting back after the initial shock. Finally someone broke them up, kicking Derek out since he had been doing the most of the damage. They were ready to call an ambulance for Truman. He was in pretty rough shape._

_Derek heard him refusing when he led the horrified and crying Casey to the car. He drove off quickly. Truman wouldn't get near her again._


	13. Chapter 13

Hey I know this chapter is SUPERRRRRRR short, but the next one is longer and packed full of information so please dont hate me too much :)

And sorry for the long delay of updating, Ive been trying hard to catchup in school and since I didn't know exactly where I wanted this story to go, I waited to start writing until I got some assignments done. Also FanFiction wouldnt let me on for some strange error reason that I still dont understand but oh well, at least its over !

Hope you enjoy, sorry for the cliffhanger again ;) But dont worry, Im adding the other chapter right away !

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

* * *

Britney was speechless for a moment.

Even from her very brief stint of getting to know Derek, she knew his 'Truman behaviour' was out of character. His smirk gave away his somehow-charming-yet-still-a-smart-ass-sarcastic-player attitude. Maybe the thing about Derek that was so appealing was that even though he had that attitude, there was something much more engaging about seeing the softer side of him, possibly the unexpectedness of it. He really was a sweet, thoughtful guy. He just didn't like to show it.

He was watching her warily, waiting for her to say something. She quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, it's just…wow. That's intense. I'm sorry." she added, looking to his eyes.

They showed his pain but they changed quickly back to normal. She hid a smile. He must be a fantastic liar to be able to turn on and off emotions that way.

Derek didn't speak, just nodded, leaning against the wall.

"There's a vending machine around the corner, by the way." Britney added, turning to go back to her patients, knowing he wouldn't want to discuss anything further.

Derek gave her a small smile in thanks, pushing off the wall to follow her directions.

Reaching the machine, he paused as he overturned the coins in his palm with his fingers, scanning the items behind the glass.

_Truman. _Derek gritted his teeth at the name. Seeing him again, remembering so vividly the words he spoke, the way he touched Casey… it boiled the blood in his veins. He let out an aggravated growl when he remembered the flash of regret he felt seeing the bandages on Truman's face, his obvious discomfort from the injuries Derek had inflicted on him. Even if he deserved them.

Casey had ruined him. He now had feelings. And a conscience.

_Right. Casey. Focus. What would she like? _he wondered, biting his lip at the choices between caramel, nuts, peanut butter and bubbles. Seriously? Chocolate with bubbles? Who thought of these things?

His index finger hesitated over the numbers.

But really, he had hospitalized someone. That had to be a reasonable reason for his mind to be racing right now. There was something in the look in Truman's eyes, and even in Britney's when they made their exchange. It was like…he couldn't figure it out. But he knew the look was familiar.

"What is it?" he muttered to himself irritably.

Slowly his mind flashed back a few years before. He remembered walking into the house to find his parents waiting expectedly for him, regarding him with some sort of patronizing pity. The look that they knew something dark and upsetting that they didn't have the heart to burden him with.

But then the word _divorce_ tumbled out of their mouths along with the phrases 'we'll still be a family' and 'it doesn't mean we don't still love you' and 'you did nothing wrong' and whatever other bullshit they got from the latest parenting book.

The question was, what were Britney and Truman hiding?

Derek turned from the machine before making a selection and started heading down the hall. He caught up to Britney as he remembered what she had said.

_Derek, there's stuff you don't know. And he has injuries too you know._

What stuff didn't he know? And why else would Truman be at the hospital if not for injuries?

"Britney, I need to talk to you. What did you mean?" he asked. He didn't need to explain. She understood by the plea in his eyes.

She looked away and led him down a short series of hallways.

Looking at him seriously, as if prepping him to ID a body, she spoke. "Derek, this is where Truman's room is."

Derek gasped at the label on the door.

**Psychiatry Ward.**

Truman was isolated in a mental institution.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey so I felt bad about taking so long to update so I put up the next chapter so you guys will like me again :) Let me know what you think !

Special thanks to the wonderful power of Google and (health and body dot canada dot com, all one word but it wont let me posts links!) for the extra help !

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Derek stood there like an idiot for a very pregnant pause.

"Is this because of what happened?" he asked finally, still staring at the sign, as if expecting the words to un-jumble and form GOTCHA!

She shook her head. "Derek…" He flinched at her tone. It was all soothing and soft, as if she was preparing him for surgery. "Truman has been a patient here since he moved here. He lied about the real reason he moved. He's been telling everyone about some lame prank dealing with the principal's car. The truth is… he wasn't fit to be around students anymore and our hospital has more specialists for his condition than Toronto's. He was sent here to live with his aunt and uncle. That much is true. He only was allowed to be enrolled in your school when he started responding to medications."

"The last while he's started responding less. The night with Casey was the breaking point and he's been staying here every night ever since. His injuries were just another reason he's here."

"What condition? What's wrong with him?" Derek asked anxiously. This was all so insane. No pun intended.

She continued, a tad more apprehensively. "He was in a bad car accident a little over a year ago. Often times his condition can form from a bad brain injury. He had received some trauma but the change in his behaviour and functioning over the progressive months proved that he would have lasting damage. Although it's rare that someone his age would have it, the drug use and smoking didn't help his brain's ability to heal, it only worsened it. Research is being done every day as always to find further treatments-"

"Britney, what is wrong with him?" Derek asked again, more firmly. She sighed.

"He has a form of dementia. It's a condition that affects behaviour and intellectual processing. It can make people act differently than they normally would even think to act. Until he came to our hospital, they weren't sure what exactly was wrong with him. They just knew it wasn't normal. They figured some sort of brain tumour. This type of condition progresses over months and is hard to diagnose. In someone so young it's almost unheard of. It's very rare, usually associated with old age. It's almost like a conjoined twin to Alzheimer's disease. Truman hasn't had too much trouble with his memory, but his short term is not perfect. It's gradually getting worse. He has the usual signs of irritability, restlessness, anxiety, depression and of course, violent outbursts." she added, looking at him pointedly.

Derek didn't reply. What could he say, really? He wasn't about to apologize for being angry at Truman for treating Casey that way. Mental stability aside, it still was wrong. Violent outbursts is one thing, but the way he used her, spoke to her, all that shit he put in her head. It wasn't from some degenerating brain disease. He wouldn't have it; Truman was still scum.

"I'm not forgiving him. I shouldn't be asked to. Either should Casey. His behaviour, not matter what is wrong upstairs, was past the line." he spat out through gritted teeth.

Britney nodded quickly. "No, I know Derek. Even with his condition withstanding, he went too far there. It can't be excused. I'm just trying to get you to understand more, Derek. His intellectual processing is off. He can't think through his actions as easily, and it's only getting harder each day for him to problem solve. While he was doing it, he couldn't see how wrong it really was. He was probably hurting, about something to do with Casey, and he just lost control. It's not excusable, but …can't you understand that it wasn't entirely his doing?"

"Like I saw that look in your eyes earlier. You wanted to kill him for stepping near Casey. But you never really would kill him, as much as you hate what he did and what he represented. If you didn't have that conscience, that ability to see the problems that would come from ending someone's life, you very well might have gone on instinct and killed the man. But you stopped…realized that was someone's son, and whatever unforgivable thing he had done, he did not deserve to have his life end. And that you would be sent to jail for life, separated from your family, the world, and Casey."

He tried not to smile. He was glad she didn't chock Casey in with his family.

Instead he nodded, giving in. She was right. No wonder she was in nursing, she was really smart.

"It must be really hard." he allowed, not looking at her.

"It is. He has to struggle every day Derek, just to remember when he had his last meal, or how to do basic functions. It's only getting worse. Just know, even though he did such a horrible thing, he has to live with the regret of hurting someone he really cared about. He's gets confused a lot more often now. He remembers what he did, he just doesn't know why."

Derek nodded again. There wasn't much he could say. He was still absorbing it all, trying to make sense of the information.

He thought back to what Casey had said the other night at Smelly Nelly's.

'_He knew I was in love with someone else… and thought I was sick…_' and Britney's guess that he was hurting over something to do with Casey. Maybe Truman had come to realize the twos feelings for each other even before they did.

"Can I talk to him?" Derek asked spontaneously.

Britney smiled. "As long as you keep it violence free, yes."

With a deep inhale, Derek followed Britney when she unlocked the door.

* * *

Interesting spin, hmm? Maybe, or not. Anyways I know it seems random but I chose Dementia because not only did it make the most sense, but my sister's boyfriend's dad has it and I've had a first hand experience observing what it can do to a family, and the dramatic change in the person themselves. Not to say I've met his Dad, but I've heard from his son's FIRST HAND view, so it works almost the same ;)

Although my story doesn't do its seriousness as much justice as I wish, it is a serious, behavior-altering disease. Not all sites will mention violence as a factor, but I know severe hostility is a symptom for sure. I'm trying to keep the sciences behind it as accurate as possible to make the story as realistic as possible but to all of you who are curious, there aren't really a lot of meds, if any, that could help with the behaviour thing. Mostly medications are used to slow down memory loss, but they can't reverse the damage already done. Also Dementia is irreversible and almost always uncurable. It depends on the type. And as for the change in the person, at least in the case I know, there can be no shred of the true person you knew left after this disease takes its course :(


	15. Chapter 15

Sooooo sorry for the delay ! I've literally been so swamped with school work with finals coming up I havent had a chance to breathe ! Plus add to that my writers block on the next step in this story, and there you go ! A bundle of excuses ! A lot has been going on these days, but I'll try to add another chapter soon, hopefully this weekend! Thanks to all who reviewed and are following this story, or even those who are just reading it for the first time ! It means a lot to me :)

I'm not really a fan of how the ending of this came out. I tried to keep it true to the condition, because throughout the chapter I felt he sounded too normal, like he wasn't suffering from anything at all, and although I want him to be pretty normal, so that they can see the degenerative process and the changes, I needed to remind everyone, including Derek, of his condition. As I wrote it it came out way differently than it had been in my head, unfortunately not for the better. Anyways I hope that wasn't the most confusing explanation ever! Any questions, feel free to PM me :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Derek was nervous. He didn't know what to expect inside. Would it be all white walls and straitjacketed patients held down with restraints? He followed Britney to his room, which unsurprisingly was a single. It was a psych ward after all.

Truman looked up in surprise when she unlocked the door. Seeing Derek, his expression changed to genuine shock.

He had begged Derek to come talk to him. But Derek had his reasons for staying away, more so now that he knew further of the truth. Plus he hadn't made shy of his refusal, yet here he was.

"I have to stay in here with you guys. I'm sorry, but it's hospital policy. For both of your safety." Britney explained apologetically.

Both guys nodded.

"So…you wanted to explain something." Derek muttered, not sure what to say. It was certainly awkward. The tension in the air was so thick it should've let off a haze. Derek refused to meet his gaze.

He had after all beat up the guy, on two different occasions. And the reason for that was because the guy had tried to rape his step-sister/love of his life. Then there was the fact that he refused to see him when he tried to tell him of his mental condition, yet now arrived. It was too be expected for the awkwardness. But they had to move past it.

"Look-"

"I-"

Both spoke at the same time, and stopped when they heard the monosyllables from the other. The pair broke into cheeky smiles at this.

"Go ahead." Truman told him with a nod.

"Nah, you go." Derek countered. He had been the one who wanted this heart-to-heart after all.

Truman inhaled. "Derek, I take it Britney has explained the physiology of my condition." She nodded from the corner at this, although she wasn't really watching them. "So I'll explain my side. I can understand why you and especially Casey can never forgive what I have done. I can't explain why I did it really. Truth be told, I don't remember all I did, just glimpses and how horrible it made me feel later…"

"Why don't I give you an update? You beat her, tried to rape her, and would've forced her to give you oral sex if she hadn't fought you off. You planted insecurities into her brain that never crossed her mind before and changed her into a nervous wreck. You bruised her body black, gave her a limp, and broke her fucking rib-" Derek was seething all over again, the memories of that first night flooding back. He jumped up from his chair but Britney sprung faster than him and stood between them, pushing him away.

"Derek, intellectual processing, off." she said between breaths. He was stronger than her but she was still winning the fight. "He could easily go ballistic and attack you if you threaten him." she whispered, pleading with her eyes for him to calm down.

Derek really wanted to hit something to make himself feel better, but there was only metal and hard surfaces available and he really didn't want to never play guitar again, so he resisted. He sat back down.

"Sorry." Derek said quietly, although more for the thoughts that crossed his mind.

Truman looked at the floor. "I-I didn't know…I'm sorry…I can't believe I'd do that to Casey…I really fell for her and was willing to wait since she wanted to…I don't get what changed…" He was thinking out loud but Derek was reminded of his revelation earlier.

"Truman…" That _name _ugh. "I think something happened that night. As much as I have always thought you were scum, even when I set you and Casey up for the prom date thing, and heck even before that party with Vicki in Toronto…I think even with you not being all right upstairs, something happened to make you act that way. Obviously you took it way too far, but did you realize something that night…? Did Casey say something…"

Derek flinched automatically when Truman looked up with fiery eyes. "It was you." he hissed, obviously remembering something.

It still confused him. "Me? I wasn't even there."

Truman barked a laugh. "Oh Derek, haven't you learned by now that everything in Casey's world is about you?" he growled, malice dripping from every syllable. "Her life revolves around you: every prank, every teasing comment, every nice feel-good-yet-not-family moment, every word that comes out of her mouth is always about you. She complains about you, rants about your latest gags, girlfriends, popularity status. Anything that we're talking about changes to something you did, or said. Then it got to the point where it started to just _get_ to me. I was her boyfriend but you were the center of her universe. I knew she was in love with you and I needed something to claim her as my own. I wanted whatever part of her that you didn't have…"

"So you tried to take her virginity? Granted I didn't have that…but seriously Truman? That's your big excuse? She talked about another guy so you got jealous and tried to rape her? Hardly a convincing argument." Derek sneered, losing his cool again.

Truman looked down in shame as Britney scolded him.

"Insensitive much? Derek, can you please try to be respectful." she chastised.

He ignored her.

"Look I just knew that I wanted to have sex with her. I mean, Casey's sweet and funny and adorable, but her body is-"

"Finish that sentence and you will no longer have a tongue." Derek growled.

"Derek!" Britney cried. Truman smirked slightly.

"So, what Derek, you mean to tell me that Casey has never excited you in that way? In your years of knowing her, knowing she was changing behind the door, going to her dance recitals, seeing her get out of the shower with water dripping down her body…"

"Shut it." he retorted, trying not to blush as he felt the familiar tingling heading to a particular region of his anatomy at the images.

Truman laughed. "See what I mean? I had a right to be sexually frustrated…but I know I didn't have a right to put her through that. I was out of line and I'm deeply sorry. You have no idea how hard it is to know you've done something and live with the burden, without even being able to reason why you had done it in the first place."

"Does Casey know of your condition?" Derek asked slowly.

He shook his head. "No, I haven't told anyone of it since I moved here. I don't even think people in my old school know. They thought my parents just kicked me out of the house or no school in Toronto would take me. Why do you ask so many questions?" he asked irritably out of the blue, as if Derek had been hounding him with them.

He was slightly taken aback but he remembered the symptoms of Truman's condition.

"Sorry." Derek replied politely. Britney gave him an approved nod.

"Yeah, well, cut it out." Truman muttered. "You can leave now."

Truman lied down on his bed, closing his eyes, ignoring Derek and Britney completely.

"Thanks for your time, Truman." Derek said as calmly as he could muster. He still had so much to ask but he knew it wasn't possible.

"Wait!" Truman cried suddenly. Derek looked back as Truman grabbed him by the shoulder.

His eyes were desperate and dewy. He looked like he was about to break down into tears. "Please get Casey to forgive me. I love her so much. She's so beautiful. I can't live without her. Can you make her forgive me? I want to see her!" he started shouting, tears pouring out of his eyes.

Derek was bewildered on what to do. "Truman, I'll tell her but I can't make any promises-"

"You have to! Make her forgive me!" Truman yelled, louder now.

"Dude, the very image of you terrifies her, I can't-" he began to say but Truman's unexpected fist collided with his temple, knocking him to the ground. Britney pushed him back to his bed, yelling for security to help her get him restrained as he screamed at Derek. She injected him to sedate him so he would calm down. He went limp on the bed and Britney kneeled next to Derek, looking upset.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to get him to let go of you-" she started.

"Don't worry, I've done worse to him." Derek confessed, truthfully not bothered that Truman took out some anger on him. It was buried for so long after all.

Wait, what? Derek was feeling remorse?

Derek knew he could never forgive Truman for what he'd done. But he managed to get some closure after that conversation, understanding more of where Truman was coming from even if he didn't agree with it. Sometimes that's all you need.


	16. Chapter 16

Next chapter, obviously ! :)

Came out a little different than I expected but works the same. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know by reviewing ! Thanks to all those who have reviewed, love ya !

Not sure where exactly I'm going to go from here with the Truman situation. But Ill warn you all now, this story is coming to a close in a few chapters. There unfortunately wont be a megaexciting ending like I was hoping but it will hopefully be conclusive and satisfying. After all, Dasey is the real hook here! ;)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Casey lay fidgeting in her bed. She could not get comfortable. Not that hospital beds are super comfortable on a good day, but she noted the change since Derek had left. It seemed her step-brother/boyfriend/something's absence was directly related to her ability to fall asleep. She had grown accustomed to sleeping next to him in a matter of nights and seemed to be struggling to withdraw from the addiction.

He had been gone quite a while now, she realized. How long did it take to find a vending machine? She felt guilty for being irritated when he was doing it solely for her, but she was anxious to see him again. And she was nervous. She still didn't like being alone.

Casey thought about how much had happened in the span of three days. She had been assaulted, rescued by her step-brother, caught again by her psycho ex, rescued again by Derek, found yet again by Truman, and once again rescued by Derek. And then tonight, they had let their true bottled up feelings show and kissed.

Romantic fantasies in her beloved books could not give that kiss justice. It had been beyond perfect. And all the ones following. Fireworks was an understatement. He was incredible in more ways than one.

Her smile only broadened as she thought about the change in him. She still hadn't forgotten the gets-every-girl-he-wants-and-then-some guy Derek was, and the panicked thought had crossed her mind once or twice, but she knew him well enough to see the true feelings in his eyes. He really meant all that he said. She, his keener, Klutzilla step-sister, made him _feel_ something. And she knew as well as the rest of the world that Derek didn't do _feelings_.

Casey suddenly sat up when she saw the man she loved slipping inside her private room, a boyish glint in his chocolate eyes. Casey couldn't help but smile when he descended next to her.

"Okay, so I couldn't figure out exactly what you might want so I got you everything. Whatever you don't want, I'll eat." he told her, pouring about six or seven different chocolate bars on her lap.

She felt like crying. He was so different than the prankster fifteen year old he used to be. Old Derek would've picked one he knew she wouldn't like then when she refused, would eat it himself and ask for money so he could buy her one she wanted, only so he wouldn't get grounded. Although she knew Old Derek must have had a sweetness in him despite his desperate attempts to deny it, he never would've shown it back then, least of all to her.

Casey was so glad he was hers. Or was he?

"Derek…" She couldn't gush about his sweetness. He'd freak out. "Thank you." She kissed him tenderly on the mouth and soon the chocolate lay forgotten. Casey's stomach saved the day again, interrupting their make-out session.

Derek chuckled. "I swear your stomach's more of a prude than you are."

Casey crossed her arms at this. It didn't take much for Derek to get under her skin.

"Der-ek! I am not a prude." she countered, pouting at his juvenile comment.

"Oh no, you are, but I'm determined to change that." he murmured in her ear, kissing below it and continuing down her neck. She backed down at first, her body tingling, but then refused to lose to him. She pushed on his shoulder.

"Mhmm, well while you figure that one out, I'm going to eat." she said stoutly, grabbing a caramel chocolate mix. He sent her a look that she didn't quite understand; it was a mix of irritated, amused and…she wasn't sure. Somewhere along the line of affectionate. A word she never would have associated with Derek before, unless in regards to his little sister.

"Fine. Me too." he retorted, snatching the nearest bar and tearing off the end of the wrapper with his teeth. She rolled her eyes. Some things would never change.

They sat staring each other down as they chewed hungrily as if in the last round of an eating contest. They both continued to shovel the bar in their mouth. Then looking down, they saw there were five left. An uneven number. Derek's eyes snapped to hers before they both lunged for them and started eating manically.

Finding the stickiest bars, Derek took his palm to her face, wiping the residue on her to distract her. It half-worked, she let out a shrill cry of fury while he practically choked laughing his head off at her, and she retaliated by unfurling the wrappers and wiping the stuck pieces of assorted ingredients and melted chocolate on him in return. They got caught up in their food fight, squealing and laughing and carrying on, forgetting to keep it down.

Then the last untouched bar lay between them. They both stopped, complete messes now, and stared at it.

Both of them jumped forward at the same time, ending up in a rather painful crunching of bodies. Casey stopped fighting immediately and that's when Derek finally remembered she was in the hospital for injuries and that they weren't at home fighting for the remote.

"Oh Case, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to call Britney? Do you need any pain meds or anything?" he asked quickly. How could he have been so stupid?!

She was holding her broken ribbed side, but smiled, trying her best not to grimace. "No I'm okay, it was just a surprising reminder. I tend to lose my head around you, especially in our fights."

Derek smirked, returning to normal now that he knew she was okay. "I don't like to think of them as fights anymore…more like ways to build up our sexual tension to store for later!" he said, laughing when she smacked him. He hooked an arm around her neck and kissed the top of her head. She smiled when he offered her the untouched, partly squashed chocolate bar. She accepted, but not before splitting it in half and giving him his share.

He smiled at this. "See we can compromise. No one would believe it, but its true."

Casey thought back to all their public fights and elevated arguments back at home. Despite them, they did have their moments of teamwork, like when Derek helped her lie to her teacher, and she helped him write a song for Sally.

"Der…" she began. Thinking of Sally reminded her that they hadn't really discussed what they were now.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.

She exhaled. "What are we?"

He smirked. "I am human. As for you, we're still awaiting test results." This caused her to shove him. He fell back but took her hands in his when he recovered. "Case, we're whatever you want us to be. I know it'll get complicated but I think we can do this. Fight through it all. We're masters at fighting after all." he added, gesturing at the chocolately mess they had gotten themselves into.

Casey giggled. Yes, giggled, with Derek! What was the world coming to?

She pondered that for a moment. Everything felt right. Maybe the world was finally in the balance it should've been; the balance that was Casey and Derek, together.

She kissed him then, deciding their fate. They couldn't go back now. They were already in way too deep. After they helped clean each other off, Derek pulled away. Casey was scared he was having second thoughts. His eyes were sad.

"Case, there's something you should know about Truman." he told her softly.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys, thank you all so much for reviewing ! And heck, just reading ! I truly mean it when I say it means so much ! I've never shared my writing before so getting feedback is the best thing ever :)

This is the next chapter, obviously. I know a lot of you were really anxious to see Casey's reaction. I'm sorry to say that this isn't the chapter where you really get the full effect of that. I know, you're thinking, what the heck? How is that possible considering the last chapter? But the majority of this chapter is written from Derek's POV, even though its written in third person, its through his eyes. So you only see Casey's reaction based on what he observes. Buttttt I already have the next chapter written, and the next for that matter, but it will give you a flashback that you all seem to loveeee, showing their conversation and her resulting reaction. And hopefully it'll all be clear ! :)

Thanks for listening to that realllllly annoying ramble ! Enjoyyyy !

PS Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. The next ones at least double ! I'll post it soon, after I get a few reviews, so I can see if I want to tweak it at all ! :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Casey took the news surprisingly well. She simply listened as he explained what he remembered of the mechanics of the condition and Truman's past. Derek further explained their meeting and after hearing of the fight, she reached a hand up to lightly touch his temple. He winced slightly, it was beginning to bruise, but she slid her hand back into his and squeezed gently, pressing a light kiss to his knuckles.

"Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry you got hurt though." she added sadly. "A part of me wishes you hadn't, only because it makes it harder to hate him. Although I am glad you did. It helps me understand a lot more. Takes some of the blame off of myself."

Derek squeezed her hands in his. "Case, even if this wasn't the case, you would not be responsible for someone's actions. It would be their problems, not yours, causing them to do that. Luckily, I will always protect you and you won't have to worry. I promise."

She looked up at him, suddenly seeming so little when she spoke in a small voice. "Even if this thing between us ends badly?"

He nodded. "No matter what happens with us. You can always depend on me, Spacey."

Casey smiled at the nickname. They certainly were a strange couple. But it worked.

"Weirdly enough, I don't think we'll have to worry about us not working. Although the obstacles will be more numerous than most couples, I have a feeling we're going to last Mr. Venturi." she told him, nervous for his reply. Derek wasn't exactly known for his commitment.

"I think our parents are proof enough." he agreed to her happy surprise, kissing her once on the lips.

She sighed at his comment however. Telling them would be a nightmare.

"Don't look so worried, they already know. I think they've known for years. Our UST hasn't exactly been a mystery when it came to our fights. We weren't very subtle about getting where we are now." Derek said amusedly.

She looked at him with panicked eyes. Derek's face registered confusion until she spoke, holding back laughter. "Maybe I should call Britney. I'm worried about you, you're sounding smart and dare I say perceptive?"

"Shut up, Space-Case." he teased, covering her mouth with his hand. She glared at him until he released his hand, chuckling.

"So just curious, you do know what being together would entitle right? No more new blonde girls, no more flirting outrageously with anything in a five mile radius, no PDA at home, studying regularly, no more kicking out my guy friends because of jealousy-"

"Hey, I can still do that! I'll be your boyfriend who can't stand to watch another guy drool over you. That should be a privilege, not a clause." Derek argued.

Casey grinned. "_Still_ do that? So you admit you sent all previous guys I've dated away because of jealousy?"

Derek shook his head, smirking despite himself. "Not exactly. But there really was a Male Code in order with Sam. 'No dating best friend's soul mates, no matter whether said best friend was dating them at the time or not'."

Casey's eyes welled up at this. He said soul mates. She should've recorded it. He probably never would again, even if they were eighty.

"As for Max, I really meant it when I said he was changing you. It terrified me. I didn't want you to be anything but you. I loved you for you, why couldn't he? And Truman, well…yeah. That one petered out on it's own. I wasn't necessarily jealous of him, as even in the beginning I knew it wouldn't last. But the second I stepped down, things happened, so I wouldn't make that mistake again." he told her seriously.

Then he continued more light-heartedly.

"As for the blonde thing, I could always dye your hair." he said, causing her to squawk in annoyance, about to ramble on in a lecture before he continued. "But I always picked blondes because they were the furthest from you. I had to get you off my mind and couldn't deal with dating someone too like you. Why do you think I dated such airheads? They were complete opposite of you."

Casey blushed. "I figured they were just easier. All you wanted was physical, and to stoke your rep."

Derek rolled his eyes. "You really thought low of me, huh? Although, you were right at the time. Glad I've grown up?"

"Ecstatic." she replied, answering the rhetorical question by kissing him fully on the mouth again.

Derek glanced over at the door, seeing Britney peeking in. When she caught his eye, she blushed a little at what she caught them doing, but then motioned him over. Derek gave her a brief nod before breaking away from Casey.

"Britney needs to speak to me. I have to leave you for another few minutes." Derek told her, wiping her lip-gloss that was smudged around her lips by his own.

Casey nodded and slid back to give him room to leave.

Derek slipped out of the door, and when he saw Britney's expression, he knew he wasn't going to like what she had to say.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey guys, heres the next one ! :)

So in this, like I stated before, will be Casey's side of the conversation. And I know, now you're like, what about Derek's conversation with Britney?! Don't worry, it's already written and will be out very soon ! Just fixing minor bits of it to make it work. There was so much running back and forth to make sure all three conversations worked that it takes a lot of revision! I wrote each part separately and in the order shown so I had to make sure I didn't mention something in one and then leave it out in the next part, or write things out of order.

BTW I forgot to mention in the past couple chapters, sorry if they seem too OOC. I'm glad you all liked the soulmates part haha I actually was going to take that part out but I couldnt figure out a better word for it, so Im glad it seemed acceptable :)

In my future stories, I will try to keep them more in character than theyve been in this one. I can do better, I promise :) Even though I like this Derek and Casey muchly.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings, enjoy !

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Casey breathed a small sigh of relief when Derek left. As much as she wanted him with her, the news about Truman had really rattled her. She knew that he didn't want her to be upset about it so she had put on the best strong front she could. Now that she was finally alone she could wallow in her solemn emotions.

Truman had a mental illness. One he had for months. And she had never noticed. Was she that unobservant? That self-absorbed that she couldn't even see what her boyfriend had been going through right in front of her? She thought back to her conversation with Derek.

_Derek looked at her with sad eyes before he spoke. "Case, there's something you should know about Truman." he stated, staring intently in her eyes._

_She knew then that this was serious._

_"What about him?" was all she asked, her voice strangled. She had no idea what he could say but it wasn't going to be good, that much was clear._

_Derek inhaled deeply, closing his eyes momentarily. "I was talking to Britney and during our conversation Truman paid us a visit. After sending him away, she had said something that made me think there was a deeper meaning behind it in regard to his stay at the hospital. I asked her about it, and she led me to his room. Case… Truman's in a mental ward."_

_Casey felt a cold tingling course through her veins at the news. She didn't know how to respond. She felt a need to hyperventilate but was too numb to move._

_Several moments passed before she fell into that freak-out mode. "What? Why? Is this because they think he's crazy because of what he did to me? Is he going to try to get away with pleading insanity?!"_

_Derek put a hand on her shoulder, soothing her gently. He remembered thinking the same thing when he saw the sign on the door and asking Britney about it. "No, he was in a car accident about a year ago and got lasting brain damage. He has dementia, Case."_

_Casey didn't need the further explanation that he supplied on what dementia was. Her grandfather had it before he died. She simply sat there nodding until he finished._

_"Are you going to be okay? Do you have any questions or anything?" he asked her, not sure where to go from here. Her face was emotionless but her eyes showed their pain._

_"Have you seen him since you've known?" she asked softly._

_Derek nodded. "I wanted to talk to him, hear his side of everything. He explained how he couldn't remember all he had done, just how bad it made him feel after, and how he didn't know why he did it. I told him my theory…"_

_She cocked her head in surprise._

_"That something must have happened that night that made him snap. Suddenly his whole personality changed and he said that it was me, my fault…" The words slipped out before he could stop them. "Everything you talked about somehow always came back to me, something I did to you or said, and he said he was sick of me owning every part of you so he wanted to have something… the only thing I didn't have: your virginity."_

_Casey felt her eyes well up at this but pushed it back. She knew it would hurt him more seeing her so upset. But she didn't want him to blame himself for what happened. If it was anyone's fault it was hers, or rather Truman's. But if she hadn't kept talking about Derek so much, Truman would have never snapped because of it. She had brought this upon herself._

_Pushing the thought of her head so she could concentrate on being strong for Derek, she squeezed his hand in hers._

_"It's not your fault. Don't… don't blame yourself. Don't do this to yourself. I can't stand it." she whispered, her eyes dewy when she met his._

_He nodded, but didn't look convinced._

_"What else happened?" she asked, changing the subject._

_Derek's face darkened at the question. "He told me he had never told anyone, so don't blame yourself for not knowing. He was very good at acting. It had been getting harder in the past few months as his condition is deteriorating. He's stopped responding to treatments so his behaviour has been out of the norm lately. You've probably noticed his struggle with attention span and mood swings. Unfortunately I know you dealt with his violent outbursts."_

_Casey sighed, thinking back to the times where they'd be talking and she'd ask him a simple question and he'd struggle to come up with an answer, almost as if he was trying to remember. She had accused him a couple times of lying, thinking he had been meeting up with Vicki or some bimbo to cheat on her as he had once before, and just couldn't come up with a quick excuse to his whereabouts. Then the times they'd be having a good time and he'd suddenly start getting irritable or anxious. Looking back it was so obvious he was suffering from something, but at the time she didn't suspect anything too out of the ordinary, putting excuses on his change of behaviour._

_Perceptive of all of Derek's voice tones, she picked up that he had experienced another violent outburst of Truman's._

_"Did he hurt you?" she murmured._

_He shrugged. "Not bad, just slugged me in the head. I didn't see lights, it just took me by surprise. It'll bruise. He was trying to convince me to get you to talk to him. I told him not to count on it. And he didn't like my answer. He was getting irritable long before that though." he added quickly, seeing her troubled expression._

_"I don't know if I can see him. Especially now." she confessed brokenly, sounding guilty._

_Derek quickly seized her hands in his. "Case, no one expects you to forgive him. You do not owe him anything. He seriously hurt you, both physically and emotionally. Despite his condition, he still went way over the line. I'm not forgiving him." he added, making her feel a little better. She didn't feel so cold-hearted if someone else agreed with her. Especially when it was Derek, the guy who went out of his way to not agree with her on a regular basis._

_"I guess." she replied softly, brushing some hair out of his eyes. Her fingers grazed his temple and he winced automatically. Smiling softly, she interlaced their fingers and brought his hand up to her lips, kissing him gently in thanks._

_"Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry you got hurt though." she said…_

Casey pulled herself out of the flashback. Now Derek had left to go talk to Britney.

Even though Derek was right about a lot of it, she was finding it hard to convince herself that it was okay that she hadn't picked up on what he was going through.

With Truman's recent actions, she knew he wasn't what she thought he was. But it still didn't cover the fact that he had been suffering, and she had been so blinded by her own life that she hadn't taken consideration of his. She always knew she was a bad girlfriend (her stream of hurting boys and short-lived relationships were not helping her case) but this bad? To completely avoid a catastrophic issue underlying in her boyfriend of almost five months' life?

It made her feel awful about herself. She was a kind-hearted, caring person who did her best to look out for the well-being of others, even though she often got tied up in her own world. She always knew she was self-absorbed but she defended that it was because she worked towards perfection and it took a lot of her focus to get there.

_Come on you perfect princess, you know you want this…_echoed painfully in her mind. Why had she always tried to be so perfect? It was an impossible feat but that always seemed to make her work harder towards it, achieving the impossible would be an ultimate goal.

She felt like she owed Truman an apology for her behaviour, even though his was really the one in question. She knew hers could never be as equally bad as his outbreak, but she still felt unsettled by the thought of never making it up to him. Maybe… maybe she should talk to him. Just to get some closure. Derek had seemed different about the Truman situation since he had talked to him. Maybe that was what he had gotten, closure.

Casey knew she needed it. There were so many stressful emotions rolling through her as her mind raced around the details of everything that had been unravelled in a span of a few days.

She knew she wouldn't forgive him for what he almost did, what he had done, or any of the words he said, but maybe if she got a glimpse of him no longer smuggling his true self, maybe she could move on. After all that he'd done, she still cared about him on some level.

Which was always a problem when it came to domestic violence. But although she wanted to believe the best in people, this time she knew she had to be sensible.

Casey slipped out of bed to go talk to Derek.


	19. Chapter 19

Hey guys, here's the next one ! Sorry for the delay in updates, school has literally been KILLING me. Im sorry to say I dont know when for sure Ill be updating next, but Im going to try for this weekend :) I dont have a lot of free time with exams all next week (why did I take 5 science courses again? Silly nursing degree :P) but Im going to try to get writing ASAP! Warning that theres only about three at most chapters left. Ive got them planned out in my head, but I really need to get them down on paper.

Also, sorry for the disappointment in the news that Britney tells Derek. It was the original plan but you all were so excited, I wanted to make it more exciting. But I failed. So now you're stuck with it, sorry :( I just figured if I added another twist it would just keep this story droning on and on and become so predictably dramatic it would get boring. Rather quit while Im ahead ;)

Finally, I've been considering the last few days on doing a Prequel to this. It would probably just be of the night of the Truman-Casey thing, leading up to Derek rescuing Casey, from Casey's POV. Would you guys be interested in that at all, or should I not bother? Still deciding myself, but would love to hear what you think :)

And of course:

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Meanwhile, Derek followed Britney away from Casey's room to talk in private.

She turned to him apprehensively when they reached an intersection in the hallways. "Derek, I'm assuming you have told Casey everything about Truman, right?" She looked at him expectedly. He nodded. "How did she take it?"

Derek shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really know. She seems fine with it but she had lapses of Casey-freak-outs. I think its eating her up more than she's letting me see. She already had the insecurity of being a bad girlfriend; knowing that she missed this big of a flag isn't helping. Plus Casey cares a lot of how people feel. She probably pities the guy. I just hope she doesn't let her emotions take over and forget all he's done."

"Do you really think she will? Casey seems to be sensible and an overall strong woman." Britney said observantly.

"She is, but this whole Truman thing has taken a toll on her, even before all this new information. She'll be able to bounce back, it'll just take time." Derek said determinedly.

Britney bit her lip nervously, swaying on the balls of her feet. He raised an eyebrow, noting the behaviour.

"I wanted to ask… did she want to talk to him? He's still insisting on seeing her, quite forcefully actually. I had to sedate him after his little spell with you." she told him apprehensively.

Derek remembered. He ran a hand through his naturally messy hair, mulling it over. He knew it wasn't his decision to make, but he really didn't like the idea of Casey seeing Truman when he was in that state. Casey cared so much about other people and their well-being, Derek imagined she would get blind-sided by it and not think as sensibly. Plus Derek knew how to take care of himself in a situation like that, but he didn't know if Casey could.

When he had seen Britney's face outside the door, he knew it would be something like that. She may not have known him long but she knew him well enough to know he would not be happy with the idea. She was watching him warily, trying to gouge his reaction. He really wanted to tell her that no, Casey would not want to see him, but he couldn't. He wasn't even really sure what she was feeling at the moment. He had noticed her hiding emotions from him during their conversation, for his benefit. But he wished she had have been more straightforward. A Casey McDonald that bottles up emotions is not a healthy one.

"I don't know if she does. I'll have to speak to her about it. As much as I want her to get closure, I don't know if its worth the risk. But it's up to her." he said heavily.

"It might be better for both of them, Derek. He needs closure too. He keeps claiming he needs to see her 'one last time.' I think he knows that he won't be allowed near her after she gets out of the hospital. He's too unstable now. You might want to consult a lawyer in regards to getting a restraining order. Just as a precaution. Do you know of any?" Britney added.

"Yeah, my dad." Derek replied easily. He agreed with her on that one. There was no way Truman and her could have a budding friendship after all that happened. Derek would not stand for it.

He continued with a sigh. "I'll talk to her. I don't know where her head is at right now. I know she wasn't completely upfront about her feelings during our conversation but maybe she's not ready to face them. Facing Truman might be too big a step right now."

"Actually Derek, that's what I came to talk to you about." his girlfriend's voice came from behind the pair. He turned around and was surprised to see her smiling.

"Hey. You shouldn't be moving so much, your leg's still a mess and that rib needs to be kept steady." Derek said quickly, realizing she would've had to lower herself from the bed on her own.

"I'm fine." Casey told him firmly. "I wanted to tell you that I want to see him. At least for a bit. I think I need to. To move on from everything."

"Are you sure? He's not…like he used to be. He's more…random. I don't want this to worsen what you're going through." Derek explained awkwardly looking at the ground.

"I don't think it will. I've managed to come to terms with myself the issues I've been experiencing…"

_Where's the checklist, Casey? _Derek thought amusedly. She was using the same tone she used when giving Nora the information on the Toronto party that time. But he loved that she was already a little more like herself.

"…and I've come to the conclusion that the best way to move on from my fears and problems, is to face them. I want to see him. To listen and understand more. And to apologize."

Derek's face showed his confusion, and it was mirrored in his voice. "Apologize for what?"

She avoided his eyes. "A few things. Mostly not knowing. I feel like as his girlfriend, I should've. He hadn't gotten close to very many people since he moved here, and I feel awful that I was the one he was closest to but he still didn't feel he could tell me."

"Well I feel that as _my _girlfriend, you are not required to. But whatever you think you need. I'll stay with you." he added.

"No, Derek. That's sweet of you, and I want you to be there for me right afterwards, but I need to talk to him alone." she told him sternly.

She figured he'd object but he simply nodded, intertwining their hands at their sides. "We'll take you to him."

Similar thoughts to Derek's passed through Casey's mind as she followed behind Britney into the psych ward. However, unlike him, she had a familiar hand squeeze hers encouragingly. She shot him a dazzling smile over her shoulder.

Britney whispered to her that she would have to stay with her for both of their safety, and Casey still agreed to go forward through the locked door. Truman looked up and was startled upon seeing the familiar face.

"Hello, Truman." was the last words Derek heard before the door closed behind the pair, cutting off all sound.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey guys, so so soooo sorry I took so long to update ! I knew the last chapter was a bittt of a cliffhanger, but I only just finished up exams and you all know how hectic the holiday season is ! I wanted to write so many times but I just couldn't set aside the time and there was this big ole thing called writers block I had for this chapter. Not sure how I feel about it, even now, but I'm ready to wrap up this story so it will have to do. Expect two more chapters, and they'll hopefully both be up before the end of the weekend :)

Sorry if this chapter is a disappointment. Again, I wanted to add a little more drama, but I figured it would be better to just get everything concluded for a more satisfying ending, rather than leaving everything up in the air and confusing. Hope you still like it !

Thanks for all of your reviews, I'd love to read more ! :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK !**

* * *

Truman didn't speak for a few moments. It seemed that although he had been praying she would somehow come see him so he could explain everything, he was at a loss for words.

"Casey…you-you came." he stammered, seeming to be wondering if she was simply a mirage.

Casey simply nodded, taking this as an invitation in and made her way across the room. Britney took her previous spot in the chair in the corner.

"Truman, I felt that maybe talking would be beneficial to the both of us. With the way things ended…it was hard to think about moving on when I was so confused on what happened. When I learned of your condition, I knew it was necessary. I thought I'd give you a chance to explain." she said apprehensively, not sure how to start a conversation like this. She had never had one remotely like it.

It was hard seeing Truman this way. He looked so vulnerable and innocent, like a child. It was strange linking the two: one was this weak, scared boy; the other a viscous, angry attacker. They seemed worlds away from each other but here, in the reality of the hospital room, they were one.

"Casey, I wanted you to know how sorry I am. I didn't realize what I was really doing. I didn't know what I had done until Derek told me tonight. I shouldn't have let my jealousy and frustration at your relationship with him force me to do that to you. I just…I love you so much and I knew he would always come first." he explained, looking down in shame.

Casey held back her tears, struggling to keep her voice under control. Hearing his voice was bringing back memories she didn't want to remember. She knew she had to do this though so she fought through it.

"Truman, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't know about this. I'm sorry I spent so much time caught up in my own life that I didn't pay good enough attention to yours. Your struggling was so obvious, but I always put excuses on your change of behaviour, never thinking that something could be really wrong. I should've been a better girlfriend, and a better friend."

He got up from his bed at that point to comfort her but Britney stood in warning. Casey had already cowered automatically at his movement.

Truman sighed in frustration, understanding both of their reactions. He stayed on his side of the room impatiently.

"You weren't a bad girlfriend, Casey. I did my best to cover up everything. I didn't want you to treat me different because I'm sick. It wasn't until after all this that I realized how selfish I was being. I hadn't considered how much danger I was putting you through being around you. I should've warned you, so you could pick up on the bad signals and get out before you got hurt." he said, his shame choking his words.

Casey nodded, unable to form words. The lump in her throat was growing.

Truman suddenly looked up, his eyes wet. "Casey, please, forgive me. Forgive what I've done, I can change. I'll take new medications, I'll try harder. I'll be everything you need me to be. I love you Casey, please, don't leave me." he begged, tears flooding his eyes.

Casey instinctually tensed. She knew this wasn't typical behaviour of his. Britney had tensed too, and was watching him closely, sitting further on the edge of her seat, ready to leap up at any moment she needed to.

"Truman…" Casey started out soothingly. "You know I care about you. But we weren't working out, even before all that happened. Don't change who you are. I loved you, but we've both been changing throughout our relationship, and we have grown apart. I'm sorry."

Truman groaned, his face in his hands. She knew it was hurting him, not just because of the sound, but because every word was hurting her too. She still cared about Truman, despite everything that happened. She never liked hurting anyone either.

"Truman, you know we can't see each other after this, right?" Casey said softly. He raised his head and she saw the hurt in his eyes, but she could see the understanding too. He knew. He just didn't want to know.

He nodded, not looking at her anymore.

"I have to ask…." she trailed off, nervous. She wanted to know, but couldn't bear to ask. She had a feeling Derek knew the answer, but he wouldn't tell her if she asked. He met her eyes, confused on her torn expression. She inhaled. "Why?" was all she could come up with. It was the beginning to all of her questions, so it seemed appropriate.

Truman didn't play along. "Why what?"

She exhaled heavily. Guys were so unhelpful. "Why did you do that to me that night? Was it something I did? Why did you say all those things to me if you love me? Why did you want to hurt me so much?" she asked, tears slipping from her eyes.

Casey noticed Britney in the corner blinking a lot. She seemed to be close to tears at hearing the conversation too.

Truman didn't speak for a moment. She waited patiently, prepared to repeat the questions if he needed them.

"Case, I…I don't know why I went that far with it. I truly don't. I can't figure out my reasoning. I don't think there ever was any there. Even the stuff I said, I didn't mean. I told you you were unlovable and all that shit because it was what I was feeling about myself. I just projected all of my pain onto you because I couldn't handle it anymore. I know that that doesn't make it right, but I just couldn't think long enough to realize what I was doing was wrong."

The lump in Casey's throat was suffocating now.

He continued. "Like I said, your relationship with Derek bothered me. I saw it every time we went to your house. The flirting, the loving stares you exchanged when the other wasn't looking. I tried to spend as much time away from there as we could. I took you to my uncle's house to reassure myself that you would be happy to just spend time with me. But all you talked about was him. How he teased you about us, how he pranked you or whatever had gone on. I could only notice the change in your eyes whenever his name was voiced. You were in love with him and not me."

Casey swallowed the pain in her throat to the best of her ability to cut in. "Truman, you have to know, I was looking forward to spending time just as a couple with no supervision that night. I wanted to reunite the spark we used to have. I was excited about the idea the moment you mentioned it. I wanted to spend more time getting to know about the past you never talked about, and allowing our relationship to go back to the way it used to be, rather than the routine it had seemed to become. But then everything fell apart." she finished sadly.

"Even if that hadn't happened, I knew it was only a matter of time before you broke up with me. I wanted to have a part of you that Derek didn't, since he seemed to have everything else. I tried to take the most precious thing from you, and for that, I will never forgive myself. I can't expect you to forgive me Casey, I know that. But I wanted you to understand. I truly am sorry." he said sincerely, and Casey believed him.

She nodded, getting to her feet. There was the final tone, signalling the end of everything. She could not fully forgive him for what he did, just understand. And she certainly wouldn't forget.

"I'll miss you." came a small voice, and she looked back to find his eyes pouring tears. She wished she could say they could at least be friends, but she knew that wasn't possible. He may have remained under control for the conversation, but she had picked up his fidgeting and his lack of attention span, knowing those were the tamest. His anxiety over getting her to be with him had freaked her out. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it, as much as it hurt her to believe it.

"I'll miss you too, Truman. Take care of yourself." she whispered, unable to speak louder because of the tears choking her.

Truman got to his feet, and Britney moved forward to stop him. He looked at her then back at Casey.

"I just wanted to say goodbye." he muttered, almost as if he was embarrassed.

Britney opened her mouth to speak but Casey held a hand up.

"It's okay." she told her, then hugged Truman goodbye.

As his arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her hair, inhaling to imprint her scent in his memory for as long as it would hold it, she let her tears fall. It was hard to say a final goodbye to someone you didn't want to fully leave. But Casey knew it was best for both of them.

"I hope you'll be happy." Casey whispered in his ear, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek as she pulled away.

"Tell Derek that if he hurts you, I'll return his favour." Truman told her quietly, as he backed away to his bed.

Casey smiled slightly, and slipped out of the door for the last time.


	21. Chapter 21

So in case you just skipped through, this is the second last chapter. I justttt updated and am putting up the last three, so if you havent, go read Ch20! Its important!

Sorry the last two chapters are short. I just had to wrap up the last bits and this one was more of a transition one, showing them continuing to go back to their old ways, while keeping the good parts of their new selves. Thanks for all the loyal reviewers :)

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

* * *

Derek was sitting in the hallway, practically losing his mind waiting. He had no idea what could be happening in there. He sat in one of the hard plastic chairs in the hallway, staring at the clock. Why was it that the clock had only moved two minutes when it felt like three days? It must be broken. There was no way it had only been that short of time.

After several very long minutes of torture, he heard the door squeak open. Jumping to his feet, he saw a tear-stained Casey coming out with Britney following calmly behind her. She looked at him and nodded, letting him know without words that everything went okay.

Derek was watching his girlfriend now, who finally looked up to meet his concerned eyes. She forced a smile but when he held out his arms, she ran to him, burying her face in his shoulder as she began sobbing. He squeezed her comfortingly, and Britney left them alone as he led Casey back to her room, supporting her weight as she leaned on him.

When they finally made it to her room, Derek guided her inside, checking for other nurses or the patrolling security. They had been lucky so far tonight, but there had been some close calls. Britney was still the only one who knew Derek was spending the night.

Casey crawled under the covers, her tears silently falling now. Derek sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her hair back from her face, wiping her tears away with his fingertips.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't do tears. I just…" she trailed off, as her breathing shortened and he shushed her soothingly.

"You have nothing to apologize for." he murmured, placing a kiss to her forehead.

"Sleep with me?" Casey asked, pulling open the blankets for him to join her. He had remained sitting beside her. She sent him a look when he bit his lip to stop from laughing at her question.

He cracked up at the glare. "Oh come on, you had to know that wasn't the smartest wording." he teased, but acquiesced. "I was going to say…we've only been together a few hours, let's not get hasty. There will plenty of time for that later."

Casey smiled. "What makes you think there will be a later?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "You can't go through your whole life with no sex, Casey. It's actually considered a human need by scientists."

She giggled at his argument. Of course he would be confident with the facts about sex. "Well maybe I want to wait until marriage." she added lightly.

She was surprised at the seriousness in his reply. "Whatever you want."

He noticed her look and smiled. "Casey, you still seem to think I don't hold sex very high on my moral list. I do. I want to do it with the right person at the right time. I know you're the right person, so whatever time feels right to you will feel right to me."

Being Casey, the waterworks started again.

"Do you ever stop crying?!" Derek asked exasperatedly, but she knew he was only teasing. He pulled her against his chest and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Do you really think we'll make the long haul, Derek?" Casey asked apprehensively. Derek was not one to discuss the future, feelings or anything serious. But that seemed to have changed lately when he was with her.

He sighed. "I do. I have a lot of confidence in us. You make me a better person, Case. You're everything I never knew to ask for. I've just been in denial. We'll only fight through everything if we both want it just as much."

Casey nodded, smiling as she rested her head on his chest. "I think we will too. I want this. I'm just scared for what's to come. I think we should tell our parents tomorrow."

Suddenly Derek's confidence wavered. He paled.

"Do we have to? Right away? I mean, can't you see how fun it would be to sneak around for a bit. I bet you five bucks they'll put us at opposite sides of the house, put bars on the windows and give us meals at separate times through a cat door to stop the PDA!" he exclaimed. It was the wee hours of the morning by now and it had been a long night. His overdramatic antics were to be expected.

"Oh Derek, stop being ridiculous. We are not staying at the Dursleys. If we hide it from them and they catch us, we WILL be in bigger trouble that. Plus you don't like PDA, especially not in front of your siblings." Casey reminded him.

He chuckled and leaned in close to her ear. "Haven't you figured out by now Casey, you're my exception to everything." He proceeded to trail kisses down her neck.

"Mmm Derek…" she mumbled. She had planned on arguing but his lips were distracting her.

He smiled against her soft skin and continued his task, moving up over her chin to reach her mouth. He kissed her softly, repeatedly, then let her cuddle back up to him to sleep. They really needed it after the night they had.

"Derek?" Casey whispered after a few moments. Derek opened one bleary eye in response. "Thanks."

He returned her smile. "Anytime sweetheart."


	22. Chapter 22

Finally, we've reached the last chapter. Thanks to all who stuck it out the whole way, with my scattering updates, and change of plot lines. Hope you guys enjoyed it, I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten ! :)

If you just saw my story updated and have not read chapters 20 and 21, go back. I put the three up at the same time because I finished tweaking them this morning and wanted to post them ASAP since it took me so long!

Anyways this one is short, but it sums up what I needed it to. Sorry I didnt really explain what would happen to Truman, I'll let all your overactive imaginations write the ending to his story. I'm still deciding on whether or not to do a Prequel to this, but if I do, its on the back burner for now. You'll know when its up.

**I DO NOT OWN LIFE WITH DEREK!**

* * *

"Derek! DEREK!" a familiar but irritably loud voice shouted at him. He moaned, pulling Casey closer to him and burying his face between her shoulder blades.

"Go away. I'm tired." Derek mumbled.

Britney put her hands on her hips. "Derek, my shift is over. You have to get up. You're not supposed to be here, remember?"

He simply waved a hand at her in response.

Letting out an aggravated growl, Britney pulled on his shoulder to drag him away from Casey. He clung to her tighter until she awoke, crying out in pain. He instantly released her, forgetting again of her injuries.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Derek asked quickly, springing out of bed as if he'd been up for hours. Somehow when he used terms of endearment with her, they didn't sound unnatural. It was just as casual as using her name.

"I'm fine, you just caught me by surprise." Casey explained, rubbing her eyes. "Well I have to say that was my least favourite wake up call from you so far."

Derek grinned. "Oh come on, what about all the high school morning fun we had? Buckets of cold water? Unplugging your alarms so you wake up in a frenzy? Those are some of my favourites!"

Casey crossed her arms, trying not to look amused. It was so much harder to hide her amusement now that she knew he why he did all those things.

"I suppose you have a point. This one wasn't that bad. I don't know if that's something to be proud of." she reminded him, biting her tongue to stop the bubble of laughter from escaping.

"You guys are probably the weirdest couple I have ever met. But I'm glad I did." Britney said, reaching her hands out. Casey sat up and hugged her.

"Thanks for everything Britney. You really went above and beyond and I will always be grateful." she told her.

Britney smiled. "The pleasures all mine. It's times like these that remind me why I went into nursing. Keep in touch you two, add me on facebook or something."

Derek enveloped her in a hug when she was free again. "We will. I think I know someone who would love to meet you as well."

Casey met Derek's eyes in confusion but when he smiled she knew what single, sweet best friend he was thinking of. There would be no Male Code for this one.

"Well I'm off to sleep forever, what an eventful night. Thanks you too for the most memorable shift of my nursing career!" she added playfully, and waved them off before leaving.

Once she left, Derek sighed. "So…today's the day."

Casey smiled. "It won't be that bad. Plus, after we tell them, we can be free to be together."

Derek kissed her lovingly on the mouth.

"We have no blood relation, there's technically nothing wrong with what we're doing. If they love us both as much as they say they do, they'll support our decision. Otherwise we'll figure something out. We're just about eighteen, they can't control us forever."

"We can't control you now! We've never been able to get you two to stop fighting, what makes you think we could ever stop this?" George's voice came from behind them.

With dread, they turned to face their family, all of which was looking a mixed of surprised and happy.

Nora moved forward first, and hugged them both.

"I've just signed your release papers. We can all finally go home." she said as the kids made their way in to greet their siblings.

"We have to go over ground rules first though. Nora will take the kids in one car, and you two will come with me in The Prince." George said warningly, in his lawyer, don't-even-think-of-arguing-with-me-because-I'll-just-embarrass-you voice.

Derek looked at Casey. "I told you, bars on the windows and a cat flap! You owe me five bucks!"

"Der-ek!"

He grinned. "That's my girl."

She simply rolled her eyes, but let his arm wind around her.

"But Dad, seriously, if you think that's going to stop the PDA, you obviously don't know my trickster ways very well…"

"DER-EK!" It earned him another rounding chorus from the family.

* * *

So there you have it kids! Hope you liked it!

As said in my profile, I'll be working on mainly Life With Derek stories for the duration of my fanfic career. I've got about twenty-seven haha or more stories writing themselves in my head, a variety of one-shots, song-fics, but mostly the multichapters I love so much. I already have started working on a few but you guys will know when I'm posting ;)

Thanks, love you all !

PS If you didnt catch who I was referring to for a guy for Britney, it was Sam. Don't know how obvious it was, thats why I added the male code thing. :)


	23. Authors Note

Sorry ! This isn't a new chapter! I know a lot of you still have me on story alert so sorry if you're thinking, what? This story was finished last chapter, how is there a new one?

ANYWAYS I just wanted to let you faithful readers know that I have written and published the prequel to this story. It is titled Unwanted Connection :)

I will warn you however that it is quite a bit more intense than this story, as it is describing in more explicit detail the happenings of Casey's first night with Truman. It is written from the time she leaves the McDonald-Venturi house to the time Derek picks her up in the second chapter, only its in Casey's POV (still third person) except for the first portion which is Derek's thoughts and side of things.

My point is, because of the constant foul language and difficult themes - in dialogue and descriptive violence, it SHOULD be rated M. But since I put this one as T, I felt I should keep it the same so that you all could find it easier :)

So please review that story if you would like to!

It was difficult to piece together every little part I mentioned when writing NBR so please point out any mistakes you notice, I would be much appreciative!

Oh and finally, I did have page breaks in the prequel but they took them out automatically. So sorry if it gets a little choppy and things seem weirdly written. I kept it as one page because it was supposed to be a quick one but I ramble sooo much it grew to that size.

All things considered, I hope you check it out, and enjoy :)

Thanks for reading !!


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